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HINDU MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES
HENKY FROWDE, M.A.
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
LONDON, EDINBURGH
NEW YORK AND TORONTO
-V J
HINDU MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES
BY THE ABBE J, A, DUBOIS
TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTHOR'S LATER FRENCH MS. AND
EDITED WITH NOTES, CORRECTIONS, AND BIOGRAPHY
HENRY K. BEAUCHAMP, CLE.
FELLOW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS J FELLOW OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY
MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY
WITH A PREFATORY NOTE BY THE RIGHT HON. F. MAX MULLER
AND A PORTRAIT
THIRD EDITION
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1906
OXFORD
PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
BY HORACE HART, M.A.
PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
EDITORS PREFACE TO THIRD
EDITION
The fact that a third reprint of this complete edition of
the Abbe Dubois' Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies
has been called for within a period of a few years is sufficient
proof of the high value which is still attached to the Abbe's
observations and of the wide popularity which his work
still enjoys. It was stated in my Preface to the first
edition : — ' The impression may be felt in many minds
that a book written so long ago can be of little practical
use at present ; but the fact is that the Abbe's work,
composed as it was in the midst of the people themselves,
is of a unique character, for it combines, as no other work
on the Hindus combines, a recital of the broad facts of
Hindu religion and Hindu sociology with many masterly
descriptions, at once comprehensive and minute, of the
vie intime of the people among whom he lived for so many
years. With any other people than the Hindus such
a work would soon grow out of date ; but with them the
same ancestral traditions and customs are followed nowadays
that were followed hundreds of years ago, at least by the
vast majority of the population.'
Not only in India but also in the United Kingdom and
the Colonies, as well as in several countries of Europe and
in the United States of America, reviews and notices of
the work have appeared, bearing invariable testimony to
the conspicuous merits of the Abbe's work. I may add
that it formed the subject of the annual address of a learned
President of the Royal Historical Society, and of the Presi-
dential Address at an annual meeting of the Hindu Social
iv EDITOR'S PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION
Conference by the late Mr. Justice Ranade, the famous
Mahratta Brahmin leader of Bombay ; and it also furnished
a text for some observations in an important speech delivered
in Bombay by the late Viceroy and Governor- General of
India, Lord Curzon.
What may be regarded as still more satisfactory, perhaps,
is that by the Indians themselves the work has been received
with universal approval and eulogy. The general accuracy
of the Abbe's observations has nowhere been impugned ;
and every Indian critic of the work has paid a warm tribute
to the Abbe's industry, zeal, and impartiality. Perhaps
I may quote in conclusion here the opinion expressed by
one of the leading Indian newspapers, The Hindu, which
in the course of a long review of the book, remarked :
' It is impossible to run through the immense variety of
topics touched in this exceedingly interesting book ; but
we entirely agree with Mr. Beauchamp in his opinion that
the book is as valuable to-day as it ever was. It contains
a valuable collection of information on a variety of subjects,
including ceremonies and observances which might pass
as trifles in the eye of many an ordinary person. The
Abbe's description might be compared with the experience
of the modern Hindu, who will find that while the influence
of English education is effecting a quiet and profound
change and driving the intellectual and physical faculties
of the people into fresh grooves, the bulk of the people,
whom that influence has not reached, have remained
substantially unaltered since the time of the French
Missionary.'
H. K. B.
Madras, October, 1905.
PREFATORY NOTE
By the Right Hon. F. Max Muller
It is difficult to believe that the Abbe Dubois, the author
of Mozurs, Institutions et Ceremonies des Pewples de VInde,
died only in 1848. By his position as a scholar and as
a student of Indian subjects, he really belongs to a period
previous to the revival of Sanskrit studies in India, as
inaugurated by Wilkins, Sir William Jones, and Cole-
brooke. I had no idea, when in 1846 I was attending
in Paris the lectures of Eugene Burnouf at the College de
France, that the old Abbe was still living and in full activity
as Directeur des Missions Etrangeres, and I doubt whether
even Burnouf himself was aware of his existence in Paris.
The Abbe belongs really to the eighteenth century, but as
there is much to be learnt even from such men as Roberto
de' Nobili, who went to India in 1606, from H. Roth,
who was much consulted by Kircher in his China Illustrata
(1667), and others, so again the eighteenth century was
by no means devoid of eminent students of Sanskrit, of
Indian religion, and Indian subjects in general. It is true
that in our days their observations and researches possess
chiefly a historical interest, but they are by no means to
be neglected. They make us see how the acquaintance of
European scholars with India began, and under what
circumstances the first steps were taken by these pioneers,
chiefly missionaries, towards acquiring a knowledge of the
ancient language of India, Sanskrit, and through it, towards
gaining an acquaintance with one of the most interesting
peoples and one of the richest and most original literatures
of the world. The reports sent from India by the Pere
Cceurdoux (1767), and published by Barthelemy in the
Memoirs of the French Academy, the letters of the Pere
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
In the Library of the Madras Literary Society and
Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society may be seen, in
a conspicuous position above one of the doorways, a
striking portrait in oil-colours. This portrait at a distance
one takes to be that of some Hindu, clothed in white,
wearing a white turban, and holding in one hand the
bamboo staff that tradition assigns to a Hindu pilgrim.
A closer inspection, however, shows that in reality it is
the portrait of a European, albeit the face is so tanned,
and so furrowed with the lines of age and thought, that
the first impression that one receives of it is not easily
dispelled. It is a face that literally speaks to you from
the canvas. The broad forehead, the well-shaped but
somewhat prominent nose, the firm but kindly mouth,
and above all the marvellously intelligent eyes, all bespeak
a man of no common mould. Whoever the artist was
(and I have not been able to discover his name or the
circumstances which led to his executing the work), there
can be no doubt that he has succeeded in depicting a
countenance that is full of character ; while as a back-
ground to his picture he has painted a low range of bare,
rugged hills that seem to be in thorough keeping with his
subject, and to suggest, as a kind of inspiration, the hard,
self-denying, but solid life-work of him whose features he
has handed down.
This portrait is that of the Abbe J. A. Dubois, a Christian
Missionary who laboured for some thirty-one years in India,
.striving to fulfil the task which his sense of religious duty
imposed upon him. Merely in this respect one can claim
METHODS ADOPTED BY DUBOIS
for him no special merit, for the annals of Christian Missions
in India are full of the names of those who spent them-
selves and were spent in the service of their Master. His
special claim to recognition will be found elsewhere, namely,
in the wonderful record which he compiled of the manners,
customs, institutions, and ceremonies of the people among
whom he lived and moved and had his being for so great
a portion of his life. He seems to have recognized from
the very first day of his arrival in India that Christian
Mission work meant something more than the mere preach-
ing and expounding of the Gospel ; that it included among
its chief essentials to success a long and thorough study of
the innermost life and character of the people amidst
whom it was to be carried on. In his day, it must be
remarked, there were no royal roads to such knowledge.
There were no text-books to prepare the way by their
critical analyses of the sacred Hindu writings. Such
knowledge had to be gained at first hand, and by the more
laborious (though, it must be confessed, more sure) method
of personal inquiry in situ. ' I had no sooner arrived
amongst the natives of India,' the Abbe himself tells us,
' than I recognized the absolute necessity of gaining their
confidence. Accordingly I made it my constant rule to
live as they did. I adopted their style of clothing, and
I studied their customs and methods of life in order to be
exactly like them. I even went so far as to avoid any
display of repugnance to the majority of their peculiar
prejudices. By such circumspect conduct I was able to
ensure a free and hearty welcome from people of all castes
and conditions, and was often favoured of their own accord
with the most curious and interesting particulars about
themselves.'
Unfortunately such details concerning the Abbe's per-
sonal history as we possess are extremely meagre. His
a 3
x EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
modesty is so extreme that he rarely appears in his own
person throughout his work, and those particulars that
I have been able to obtain have been culled from various
other sources — chiefly from the Madras Government
Secretariat, from the British Museum, and from the Missions
ttrangeres. The absolute retirement of the Abbe from
European society for a long series of years after his arrival
in India, though it qualified him, as was said when his
work first appeared, ' for penetrating into the dark and
unexplored recesses of the Hindu character,' also veiled
him in an equal degree from the curiosity of his readers.
Major Mark Wilks, the accomplished historian of Mysore,
who in those days was British Resident in that province,
in introducing the Abbe's work to the notice of the Govern-
ment of Fort St. George, remarked : ' Of the history and
character of the author, I only know that he escaped from
one of the fusillades of the French Revolution and has
since lived amongst the Hindus as one of themselves :
and of the respect which his irreproachable conduct in-
spires, it may be sufficient to state that when travelling, on
his approach to a village, the house of a Brahmin is uni-
formly cleared for his reception, without interference,
and generally without communication to the officers of
Government, as a spontaneous mark of deference and
respect.' Subsequently, however, Major Wilks became
much more intimate with the Abbe, and the latter speaks
of him years afterwards in terms of great affection as his
patron and friend. With regard to the circumstance
mentioned above as having induced him to leave France
and come to India, the Abbe remarked afterwards : ' It
is quite true that I fled from the horrors of the Revolution,
and had I remained I should in all probability have fallen
a victim, as did so many of my friends who held the same
religious and political opinions as myself ; but the truth
PERSONAL HISTORY OF DUBOIS xi
is I embarked for India some two years before the fusillades
referred to took plaee.'
Be this as it may, I have aseertained that the Abbe
was ordained in the diocese of Viviers in 1792, at the
age of twenty- seven, and left France in the same year.
He entered on his Mission work under the guidance of the
Missions Strange res. On reaching India he was attached
to the Pondicherry Mission ; and for the first few years he
seems to have laboured in what are now the Southern
Districts of the Madras Presidency. He must have quickly
made for himself a name, for on the fall of Seringapatam
he was specially invited, on the recommendation, it is
said, of Colonel Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington,
to visit the capital of Mysore in order to reconvert and
reorganize the Christian community which had been forcibly
perverted to Mahomedanism by Tippu Sultan. En passa?U,
I may mention that, through the influence of the Abbe in
Mysore, not a single priest of the Missions ^trangeres was
persecuted by Tippu. For these apostates, we learn, he
pleaded eloquently before Mgr. Champenois, the Bishop,
and with such good effect that he once more gathered the
lost sheep, of whom there were 1,800 in Seringapatam
alone, into the Christian fold, and established on a per-
manent basis the Roman Catholic Church in the province
of Mysore. Of the practical farsightedness which guided
him in his work, we may judge by two incidents that have
been incidentally recorded of him. He met the problem
of the poverty of the people committed to his care by
founding agricultural colonies on the lines that have
during these past few years been advocated by the Salvation
Army and others, his principal colony being at Sathalli,
near Hassan ; and he used his influence to such good
effect in preventing epidemics of small-pox by promoting
vaccination (then, be it remembered, a comparatively novel
kii EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
idea) that he was afterwards granted a special pension by
the East Indian Company. ' The literary reputation which
M. Dubois has acquired in this country,' wrote one of his
colleagues, M. Mottet, in 1823, ' is the least of his merits.
He has honoured and served the mission in every way,
and perhaps more than any one of us. The Indians had
the greatest attachment, confidence and respect for him.'
M. Launay, in his recently published Histoire des Missions
de Vlnde, remarks : ' Among other benefits which he con-
ferred upon his flock, may be mentioned his zeal in estab-
lishing agricultural colonies, and also introducing vaccina-
tion to stay the ravages of small-pox ; in which, in spite
of the extraordinary tenacity of native prejudice, he
succeeded so fully that in 1803-4 a total of 25,432 natives
were vaccinated and registered ; in memory of which the
natives still remember him by the title of " Doddhaswa-
miayavaru," or " Great Lord." M. Launay adds that in
some parts, especially at Karumattampatty, he is spoken
of to this day as ' the prince's son, the noblest of Euro-
peans.'
For the moment let us return to the great descriptive
work which he compiled during his hours of leisure. That
the Abbe was from the first a close observer of the people
among whom he lived and a keen student of their religious
and social institutions is perfectly apparent. But the idea
of putting the results of his investigations into writing
originated, as he tells us, ' in consequence of notices in the
public papers calling for authentic documents regarding
these people for the use of the historiographers of the
Honourable Company engaged in writing the history of
India.' The idea once formed, he set to work with charac-
teristic thoroughness, though with too much modesty he
remarks : ' I aim not at the rank of an author, which is
suited neither to my talents nor to the secluded state in
DUBOIS' CHIEF WORK xiii
which my profession confines me amongst the natives of
the country.' He remarks further, however : ' During my
long sojourn in India I never let slip any opportunity of
collecting materials and particulars of all sorts. My in-
formation has been drawn partly from the books which
are held in highest estimation amongst the people of India
and partly from such scattered records as fell by chance
into my hands and contained facts upon which I could
thoroughly rely. But in regard to the majority of the
materials which I now offer to the public I am chiefly
dependent on my own researches, having lived in close
and familiar intercourse with persons of every caste and
condition of life. Probably many Europeans settled in
India would have been more capable than myself of per-
forming the same task ; but I may be permitted to doubt
whether there has been any person more favourably
situated for gleaning information or more zealous in his
pursuit of knowledge.'
At the same time he disclaims for his work any general
applicability to the whole of India. His observations
extend, broadly speaking, to the India that lies south of
the Vindyan Range ; and even within those limits he is
careful to remark that local differences are so many and
so marked that ' there is no class or sect or community of
Hindus that has not, in addition to the general rules
of Hindu society, some domestic usages peculiar to itself.'
So that, as he says, it is impossible to generalize with
complete accuracy on any subject connected with them.
But though the Abbe with characteristic modesty leaves
to ' the many learned Europeans residing in the country '
the task of compiling from authentic documents ' a more
methodical and comprehensive history of the Hindus,' his
own work possesses special merits of its own and is far
superior to any that could be compiled from books of
xiv EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
reference and literary investigations, for, as Major Wilks
said of it, ' it was meditated and composed in the midst of
the people whom it describes, and in writing it the author
followed the only path that has ever yet led to a true
delineation of national character, namely, the path of
original research and personal observation.'
The French MS. of the work which the Abbe compiled
under the circumstances and according to the design
above described has a somewhat remarkable history. In
its original form it was placed in the hands of Major Wilks
in the year 1806, when the Abbe had been some fourteen
years in the country. Major Wilks appears to have kept
it by him and studied it for more than a year, and then
to have forwarded it to the Government of Fort St. George
with a letter of warm recommendation, in which he re-
marked : ' So far as my previous information and sub-
sequent inquiry have enabled me to judge, it contains the
most correct, comprehensive, and minute account extant
in any European language of the customs and manners
of the Hindus.' This judgement was heartily endorsed
by Sir James Mackintosh, to whom Major Wilks would
appear to have sent it for his opinion, and also by Mr. W.
Erskine, of Bombay, a man of distinguished talents and
an acknowledged authority in everything connected with
the mythology, literature, customs, and institutions of the
people of India. Fortified in his own opinion of its high
merits by the concurrence of these two eminent men,
Major Wilks had no difficulty in persuading Lord William
Bentinck, who was then at Madras, to purchase the MS.
on behalf of the East India Company, the sum eventually
agreed upon being 2,000 star pagodas (i.e. in the present
currency some 8,000 rupees). In accordance with the
Abbe's request this sum was invested in Government
paper and the interest paid to him regularly afterwards
HISTORY OF DUBOIS' MSS. xv
— a modest sum, no doubt, judged by latter-day standards
of literary remuneration ; but, then, the Abbe's wants
were modest. According to Major Wilks all that he hoped
for was ' a recompense sufficient to shield his future life
from those miseries of extreme want which he had once
already encountered.'
In summing up his own opinion of the Abbe's work
Lord William Bentinck remarked with characteristic can-
dour and good sense : —
' The result of my own observation during my residence
in India is that the Europeans generally know little or
nothing of the customs and manners of the Hindus. We
are all acquainted with some prominent marks and facts,
which all who run may read ; but their manner of think-
ing, their domestic habits and ceremonies, in which cir-
cumstances a knowledge of the people consists, is, I fear,
in great part wanting to us. We understand very imper-
fectly their language. They perhaps know more of ours ;
but their knowledge is by no means sufficiently extensive
to give a description of subjects not easily represented by
the insulated words in daily use. We do not, we cannot,
associate with the natives. We cannot see them in their
houses and with their families. We are necessarily very
much confined to our houses by the heat ; all our wants
and business which would create a greater intercourse
with the natives is done for us, and we are in fact strangers
in the land. I have personally found the want of a work
to which reference could be made for a just description
of the native opinions and manners. I am of opinion that,
in a political point of view, the information which the
work of the Abbe Dubois has to impart might be of the
greatest benefit in aiding the servants of the Government
in conducting themselves more in unison with the customs
and prejudices of the natives.'
The purchase of the MS. was reported by the Madras
Government to the Board of Directors in 1807 as ' an
arrangement ... of great public importance ' ; and the
MS. itself was transmitted to London at the same time for
xv i EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
translation and publication. It was not until 1816, how-
ever, that the English translation was actually published,
with the sanction of the East India Company and under
the personal supervision of Major Wilks. Meanwhile a
copy of the MS. in the records of Fort St. George had
in 1815 attracted the attention of Mr. A. D. Campbell,
Superintendent of the Local Board of Examiners, who,
in apparent ignorance of the fact that the original copy
had been sent to England for publication, proposed to
publish an annotated edition of it in Madras. Accordingly
he commenced the task ; but almost immediately he
reported to the Local Government as follows : —
' I soon found enough to satisfy me that it would be
unfair to proceed further in this pursuit without first
affording the author an opportunity of revising his work,
being convinced that the increased experience of the Abbe
Dubois and his further acquaintance with the customs and
habits of the Hindus would enable him to correct many
parts of the MS., and to add new information on the very
curious and interesting subjects on which it treats. I have
now the honour of submitting to the Board the reply of
the Abbe Dubois to a reference which I made to him on
this subject, and it will thence be perceived that, notwith-
standing the very favourable manner in which the accuracy
of the facts stated in the MS. has been mentioned by
Colonel Wilks, the author admits that the work requires
" considerable alterations " and " many additions," and
that " there are chapters which ought to be entirely made
again." '
It is from this point that the history of the MS. becomes
most interesting. It appears from a careful examination
which I have made of the records in the Madras Govern-
ment Secretariat (which records include several letters in
the Abbe's own handwriting) that the MS. was sent back
to the Abbe for his additions, excisions, and corrections,
and that these were verv considerable. Indeed the MS.
EARLIER EDITIONS xvii
was completely altered, recast and enlarged, until it bore
hardly more resemblance to the original work than a rough
outline sketch does to a finished picture.
And yet this rough sketch, so to speak, has up to this
day been all that English readers have had presented to
them of the Abbe's work. I do not for one moment desire
to detract from the artistic and literary value of that sketch,
admirable as it is, and as it has been acknowledged to be
by the authorities quoted above. But what I do mean to
say is that the sketch is only an extremely poor representa-
tion of what the Abbe's great work really was.
The true history was this. When the MS. was returned
to him in 1815, the Abbe put into it all the additions and
corrections suggested by many years of additional study
and investigation ; and when he sent it back to the Govern-
ment of Madras, it was, practically speaking, a different
work altogether. On receipt of the revised MS. the Govern-
ment of Madras decided that the only course open to them
was to send it to the Court of Directors in England, as the
original MS. had been. Unfortunately, however, before
the revised MS. could reach England the original draft had
been translated and published ; and it is this edition which
has been sold ever since, and upon which the Abbe's repu-
tation has rested.
It is true that a so-called ' revised ' edition was published
some thirty odd years ago, but it was merely a reprint (and
unfortunately a very considerably curtailed reprint) of the
original English edition. The only sign that I have been
able to discover of the revised MS. in the Fort having been
consulted, is the inclusion of a dedicatory page that had been
added by the Abbe when he sent his finally corrected copy
to the Madras Government before leaving India. As far
as I can ascertain the chief effect of this new edition was
a demand for a verbatim reprint of the original edition
xviii EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
which had been so arbitrarily cut down ; and this was
almost immediately supplied by the publishers.
The Abbe, the Local Government, and Mr. Campbell, it
may be remarked, were all in hopes that a second revised
edition would be published containing the corrections and
additions that had subsequently been made ; but for some
reason or another this has never hitherto been done.
The view which the Abbe took of the edition, as it ap-
peared, is expressed in a letter in English (of which he had
a good knowledge) addressed to the Madras Government,
dated Seringapatam, February 20, 1818, with which letter
he submitted still further revisions. The Abbe remarked
therein : —
1 Since I wrote my last additions and corrections, a gentle-
man in the place having favoured me for my perusal with
a copy of the English translation of the work, I was sorry
to observe that, owing perhaps to some oversight on the
part of the copyists of my original MS., or other accidents,
many interesting, authentic, and quite unexceptionable
paragraphs, and in some instances whole pages, had been
passed over, which circumstance occasions chasms in the
narrative and otherwise renders the descriptions very im-
perfect, and in a few instances contradictory. These dif-
ferences are pointed out and corrected in the accompanying
sheets ; and the other inaccuracies to be found in the
original MS. and the translation were fully corrected and
the work considerably enlarged in the additions sent before
to Government. I therefore request that the accompanying
accounts may be sent without delay to the Hon'ble the
Court of Directors to be added to the former ones, in order
that if the work goes through a second edition it may be
made as interesting and curious as it lies in my power to do.'
Nor were these the last corrections made in the text of
his work by the good Abbe, for three years later, and a short
time before he left India for good and all, he sent a fair copy
of his 'finally corrected' work to the Madras Government.
EARLIER EDITIONS xix
which, like the two former MSS., was sent to England and
is now in the India Office Library. One copy of this, I may
mention, was taken by the Abbe to France, and was pub-
lished in the original French. The number issued was
however small, and copies of it are now almost unprocurable.
And another copy of the MS. was left in the records of Fort
St. George. This last-named copy I have carefully com-
pared with the English translation which has hitherto been
available to the public, and the comparison has shown me
how vastly superior in every way (I might say every page)
is the Abbe's later and unpublished work as contrasted
with his first draft, composed sixteen years earlier, which
despite its imperfections has enjoyed so much popularity
amongst English students of Hinduism.
It is certainly very strange that all the facts which I have
detailed above have never before attracted attention, and
that although copies of the Abbe's finally completed work
are to be found in the records of the India Office and of the
Government of Madras, it has never before been discovered
that the published English edition is not in reality a com-
plete or true representation of the Abbe's long labours in
the field of original research. For all that, however, this
edition has been largely drawn upon by English writers,
chief amongst whom we may mention Mill, the historian of
India, while Oriental students like Professor Wilson have
acknowledged the assistance it afforded them, and in the
British Museum there is a copy of it containing a manuscript
note by Coleridge which shows that the poet had gone to
it for inspiration. ' This is the honestest book of the kind,'
Coleridge pronounced, 'as written by a Frenchman, that
I have ever read.'
Now, if this faulty English edition has been so widely
consulted and so frequently extolled, an English edition
of the Abbe's revised work ought to be infinitely more
xx EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
valuable. This was tho thought which presented itself to
me when I discovered, almost accidentally, while looking
through the French MS. in the Madras Government's
records, that the good Abbe had never had justice done to
him. Accordingly, with the permission and with the aid
of the Madras Government, I have made a verbatim trans-
lation of the work in its complete form which I here present
to the public, together with such notes and observations as
seem necessary to put the text into line with later develop-
ments and research.
As to the intrinsic value of the Abbe's work, I have no
hesitation in saying that it is as valuable to-day as ever it
was, even more valuable in some respects. It is true that
a mass of learned literature on the religious and civil life of
the Hindus has accumulated since the Abbe's days, and it
is still accumulating ; and the impression may be felt in
many minds that a book written so long ago can be of little
practical use at present ; but the fact is that the Abbe's
work, composed as it was in the midst of the people them-
selves, is of a unique character, for it combines, as no other
work on the Hindus combines, a recital of the broad facts
of Hindu religion and Hindu sociology with many masterly
descriptions, at once comprehensive and minute, of the vie
intime of the people among whom he lived for so many years.
With any other people than the Hindus such a work would
soon grow out of date ; but with them the same ancestral
traditions and customs are followed nowadays that were
followed hundreds of years ago, at least by the vast majority
of the population. I do not deny that some of the Abbe's
statements require to be modified in the light of changes
that have taken place amongst the educated classes since
the introduction of Western learning, but such necessary
modifications, which, as remarked above, I have introduced
in the form of notes, are surprisingly few. Enumerated
VALUE OF DUBOIS' RESEARCHES xxi
separately by themselves, no doubt these changes might
furnish material for a substantial volume, for no person
would now be so foolish as to repeat the assertion so long
maintained unchallenged that the Hindu nation is completely
apathetic, unchanging, and non-progressive in the modern
sense. But in editing the Abbe's work I have confined
myself to modifying such statements as seemed to require
modification, and have avoided as far as possible any digres-
sions that were not suggested by the text itself.
Petty local differences in civil and religious affairs are
a marked feature of Hinduism, just as almost innumerable
subdivisions and sub-sections and sub-sub-sections are a
marked feature of the caste system. Hence it is that much
which is perfectly true of one locality is false of another ;
and accordingly it is impossible to describe the many details
of Hindu life and character without mental reservations
as to possible exceptions. Nevertheless, there are certain
broad, fundamental principles underlying these many
differences and inequalities ; and it is upon these that the
Abbe rears the fabric of his extraordinary work. More-
over, the Abbe appears to me to avoid the many pitfalls of
this uneven field of investigation with peculiar skill. It
would be wrong to say that all his observations are generally
applicable or perfectly just, but, taken as a whole, they
are remarkably true and unprejudiced.
I am here tempted to quote at some length the observa-
tions concerning the Abbe and his researches made by a
prominent Hindu, the Honourable Dewan Bahadur Srina-
vasa Raghava Iyengar, CLE., at a meeting of the Madras
Presidency College Literary Society in May, 1.896. This
gentleman is well fitted to express an opinion on a subject
of the kind, for not only has he been for some years past
Inspector-General of Registration in Madras, a department
of the public service which in its dealings is in closer touch
XXII
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
< han any other with the material and social conditions of
the people themselves, but he is himself the author of
a most authoritative work on the moral and material pro-
gress of Southern India under British rule. At the meeting
referred to he observed : —
' The Abbe was a most remarkable character, and a study
of his life cannot fail to be of profit to us all. It has been
said, and said truly, that one half of the nation does not
know how the other half lives. The difficulties which a
foreigner has of understanding the inner life and modes of
thought of a people to which he does not belong may indeed
be said to be immense. The Abbe surmounted these
difficulties by devoting thirty years of his life to his
subject. To effect his purpose he adopted the garb, the
manners, and, as he says, even the prejudices of the
people among whom his lot was cast ; won their respect
and confidence; and was held by them in quite as much
reverence as one of their yogis or gurus. The quotations
from his work show his shrewd common sense, clear-sighted-
ness, and perfect candour. Any account given by such a
man of the manners and customs of the people amongst
whom he lived must in any case be instructive, and I for
one look forward with great interest to the forthcoming
revised edition of the Abbe's work.'
In many respects the Abbe displays a truly wonderful in-
sight into things. For instance, in his finally corrected work
there is a passage (evidently a late interpolation) in which
he sums up in a few brief sentences his opinion of British
dominion in India, and which is all the more remarkable as
coming from a Frenchman. In that passage he remarks : —
' The European Power which is now established in India
is, properly speaking, supported neither by physical force
nor by moral influence. It is a piece of huge, complicated
machinery, moved by springs which have been arbitrarily
adapted to it. Under the supremacy of the Brahmins the
people of India hated their government, while they cherished
and respected their rulers ; under the supremacy of Euro-
peans they hate and despise their rulers from the bottom of
DUBOIS ON BRITISH RULE xxiii
their hearts, while they cherish and respect their govern-
ment. And here I would remark that the rule of all the
Hindu princes, and often that of the Mahomedans, was,
properly speaking, Brahminical rule, since all posts of con-
fidence were held by Brahmins.
1 If it be possible to ameliorate the condition of the people
of India I am convinced that this desirable result will be
attained under the new regime, whatever may be said by
detractors who are ready to find fault with everything.
Whatever truth indeed there may be in the prejudiced
charges, engendered by ignorance and interested motives,
which are brought against the new order of things, and
which are perhaps inseparable from every great administra-
tion, I for one cannot believe that a nation so eminently
distinguished for its beneficent and humane principles of
government at home, and above all for its impartial justice
to all classes alike — I for one cannot believe that this
nation will ever be blind enough to compromise its own noble
character by refusing participation in these benefits to a sub-
ject people which is content to live peaceably under its sway.
' At the same time I venture to predict that it will attempt
in vain to effect any very considerable changes in the social
condition of the people of India, whose character, principles,
customs, and ineradicable conservatism will always present
insurmountable obstacles. To make a people happy, it is
essential that they themselves should desire to be made
happy and should co-operate with those who are working
for their happiness. Now, the people of India, it appears
to me, neither possess this desire nor are anxious to co-
operate to this end. Every reform which is obviously
devised for their well-being they obstinately push aside if it
is likely in the least degree to disturb their manner of living,
their most absurd prejudice, or their most puerile custom.
' Nevertheless the justice and prudence which the present
rulers display in endeavouring to make these people less
unhappy than they have been hitherto ; the anxiety they
manifest in increasing their material comfort ; above all,
the inviolable respect which they constantly show for the
customs and religious beliefs of the country; and, lastly,
the protection they afford to the weak as well as to the strong,
to the Brahmin as to the Pariah, to the Christian, to the
xxiv EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
Mahoiuedan, and to tlie Pagan : all these have contributed
more to the consolidation of their power than even their
victories and conquests. . . .
' It has been asserted that any great power based neither
on a display of force nor on the affection and esteem of
subject races is bound sooner or later to topple under its
own weight. I am far from sharing this opinion altogether.
The present Government is in a position in which it has
little or nothing to fear from extraneous disturbance. True
it is that like all empires it is subject to possible chances of
internal dissension, military revolt, and general insurrection.
But I firmly believe that nothing of this sort will happen to
it so long as it maintains amongst its troops the perfect
discipline and the sense of comfort which at present exist,
and so long as it does all in its power to make its yoke scarcely
perceptible by permitting its subjects every freedom in
the exercise of their social and religious practices.
' It is the poverty of the country which in my opinion
gives most cause for apprehension — a poverty which is
accompanied by the most extraordinary supineness on the
part of the people themselves. The question is, will a
Government which is rightly determined to be neither unjust
nor oppressive be able always to find within the borders
of this immense empire means sufficient to enable it to meet
the heavy expenses of its administration ? But, after all,
God alone can foretell the destiny of Governments ! '
Time has but proved incontestably the truth of these
far-seeing criticisms. Even the Mutiny is therein antici-
pated and its chief cause accurately foretold, while nobody
will deny the justice, even at the present day, of the Abbe's
observations on the attitude of the natives of India towards
the British Government and on the difficulties with which
that Government has to contend in administering its vast
Eastern empire, according to Western notions of civilization
andprogress, with the resources that it yields for that purpose.
There is one other matter which I feel bound to refer
to before concluding this brief notice of the Abbe's sojourn
and work in India, and that is the impression he derived
DUBOIS ON MISSIONS xxv
after three decades of Mission labour as to the possibility
of converting India to Christianity. I have no wish to
renew the bitter controversy which ensued on the publi-
cation of his Letters on the State of Christianity in India
soon after his return to France ; but no notice of the Abbe's
career would be complete without some reference to it.
The purport of those Letters, as I understand them, was to
assert that, under existing circumstances, there is no human
possibility of converting the Hindus as a nation to any sect of
Christianity ; or in the Abbe's own words, ' Let the Christian
religion be presented to these people under every possible
light, . . . the time of conversion has passed away, and under
existing circumstances there remains no human possibility
of bringing it back.' It would require a reproduction of
the whole text of these Letters to explain fully the grounds
upon which the Abbe based a decision so humiliating to
himself and to his fellow-Christian workers, but the chief
cause undoubtedly was the invincible barrier of what we
may call nowadays intellectual Hinduism, but which the
Abbe called Brahminical prejudice. He refers regretfully
to the collapse of the Church, with its hundreds of thousands
of converts, many of them of high caste, established by the
Jesuits Beschi and de Nobili in Madura ; but at the same
time he made no concealment of the real causes of their
failure. ' The Hindus soon found that those missionaries
whom their colour, their talents, and other qualities had
induced them to regard as such extraordinary beings, as
men coming from another world, were in fact nothing else
but disguised Feringhis (Europeans), and that their country,
their religion, and original education were the same as those
of the evil, the contemptible Feringhis who had of late in-
vaded their country. This event proved the last blow to
the interests of the Christian religion. No more conversions
were made. Apostasy became almost general in several
xxv] EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
quarters, and Christianity became more and more an object
of contempt and aversion in proportion as European manners
became better known to the Hindus.'
It is necessary to remark that the Abbe's Letters were
vehemently answered by the Protestant missionaries,
Hough and Townley ; but we need not enter into the
details of the controversy. In another place the Abbe
remarked : ' Should the intercourse between individuals of
both nations, by becoming more intimate and more friendly,
produce a change in the religion and usages of the country,
it will not be to turn Christians that they will forsake their
own religion, but rather (what in my opinion is a thousand
times worse than idolatry) to become mere atheists, and
if they renounce their present customs it will not be to
embrace those of Europeans, but rather to become what
are now called Pariahs.'
In a word, the Abbe completely despaired of the higher
castes ever becoming Christians, though he was ready to
acknowledge that there was a harvest-field among the
low castes and outcastes. Of his own attempts to convert
the Hindus he remarks : ' For my part I cannot boast of
my successes in this sacred career during the period that
I have laboured to promote the interests of the Christian
religion. The restraints and privations under which I have
lived, by conforming myself to the usages of the country ;
embracing, in many respects, the prejudices of the natives ;
living like them, and becoming all but a Hindu myself ; in
short, by being made all things to all men, that I might by
all means save some — all these have proved of no avail to
me to make proselytes. During the long period I have lived
in India in the capacity of a missionary, I have made, with
the assistance of a native missionary, in all between two
and three hundred converts of both sexes. Of this number
two-thirds were Pariahs or beggars ; and the rest were
DUBOIS' CONCLUSIONS ENDORSED xxvii
composed of Sudras, vagrants, and outcastes of several tribes,
who, being without resource, turned Christians in order to
form connexions, chiefly for the purpose of marriage, or
with some other interested views.'
These various quotations from the Abbe's Letters are
likely to inspire indignation among Christian missionaries,
but his general conclusions certainly find a remarkable
echo in the following extract on Christianity in Mr. Baines's
General Report on the Census of 1891 : —
' Its greatest development is found where the Brah manic
caste system is in force in its fullest vigour, in the south and
west of the Peninsula, and amongst the Hill tribes of Bengal.
In such localities it is naturally attractive to a class of the
population whose position is hereditarily and permanently
degraded by their own religion, as Islam has proved in
Eastern Bengal, and amongst the lowest class of the inhabi-
tants of the Panjab. We have seen that in the early days
of Portuguese missionary enterprise, it was found necessary
to continue the breach that Brahmanic custom had placed
between certain grades of society and those above them ;
but in later times, and in foreign missions of the Reformed
Church, the tendency has been to absorb all caste distinc-
tions into the general commission of the Christianity of that
form. The new faith has thus affected the lower classes
more directly than the upper, who have more to lose socially,
and less to gain.' . . .
It may be mentioned that in the agricultural settlement
of reconverted Christians at Sathalli in Mysore, previously
alluded to, the inhabitants retained theirHindu caste distinc-
tions ; and the following observations in Mr. V. N. Narasim-
miyengar's Mysore Census Report (1891) are noteworthy : —
' Roman Catholicism is able to prevail among the Hindus
more rapidly and easily, by reason of its policy of tolerating
among its converts the customs of caste and social obser-
vances, which constitute so material a part of the Indian
social fabric. In the course of the investigations engen-
dered by the census, several Roman Christian communities
xxviii EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
have been met with, which continue undisturbed in the
rites and usages which had guided them in their pre-con-
version existence. They still pay worship to the Kalasam
at marriages and festivals, call in the Brahmin astrologer
and purohita, use the Hindu religious marks, and conform
to various other amenities, which have the advantage of
minimizing friction in their daily intercourse with their
Hindu fellow-caste brethren.'
And yet the Christian native is nowadays but in the
ratio of seven in a thousand of the whole population. The
remark accordingly made by the Roman Catholic Bishop
of Agra to Jacquemont is as applicable now as it was when
it was uttered in 1828 : ' La caldalja e molto grande, ma la
carne e molto poca.'
The last years of the Abbe's life were spent at the head-
quarters of the Missions Etrangeres at Paris. He left
India, never to return, on January 15, 1823, his passage
having been paid by the East India Company and a special
pension settled upon him for life in recognition of the
many services which he had rendered in India. On his re-
turn to Paris he was at once made Director of the Missions
Etrangeres, and from 1836 to 1839 he filled the post of
Superior. During his leisure he found time to translate into
French the whole of the Pancha-tantra, the famous book of
Hindu fables, a"hd also a work which he entitled The Exploits
of the Guru Paramarta. He lived for no less than a quarter
of a century after returning to Europe, and died in 1848 at
the patriarchal age of eighty- three.
In conclusion I desire to acknowledge the kind assist-
ance and advice which I have received from many Hindu
friends and others while editing the Abbe's work r especially
do I desire to acknowledge the help rendered to me by
Mr. C. V. Munisawmy Iyer, a Brahmin gentleman, who
associated himself with me in the revision of the proofs.
H. K. B.
MADRAS, /September, 1897.
CONTENTS
Portrait or Dubois Frontispiece
PAGES
Editor's Preface to Third Edition
ni-iv
v-vii
viii-xxviii
1-13
Prefatory Note by Max Muller
Editor's Introduction .
Author's Preface
PART I.
General View of Society in India, and General Remarks
on the Caste System.
Chapter I. Division and Subdivision of Castes. — Castes pecu-
liar to certain Provinces. — Particular Usages of some Castes.
— Division of Castes founded on Parentage. — Subordination of
Castes. — Outward Signs of certain Castes. — Division of Caste-
groups into Right-hand and Left-hand 14-27
Chapter II. Advantages resulting from Caste Divisions. —
Similar Divisions amongst many Ancient Nations . . . 27-37
Chapter III. Expulsion from Caste. — Cases in which such De-
gradation is inflicted. — By whom inflicted. — Restoration to Caste.
—Methods of effecting it 38-44
Chapter IV. Antiquity and Origin of Caste .... 44-48
Chapter V. The Lower Classes of Sudras. — Pariahs. — Chuck-
lers, or Cobblers, and others equally low. — Contempt in which they
are held. — Pariahs strictly speaking Slaves. — Washermen, Barbers,
and some others. — Disrepute into which Mechanical Skill has fallen.
— Nomads and Vagabonds. — Gypsies. — Quacks. — Jugglers. — Wild
Tribes, &c. 49-80
Chapter VI. The Poverty of the Hindus .... 80-97
Chapter VII. The Mythical Origin of the Brahmins. — Their
Name and their Original Founders. — Conjectures on their True
Origin. — Buddhists and Jains ...... 97-108
Chapter VIII. Different Kinds of Brahmins. — Outward Signs
by which they are distinguishable ..... 108-111
Chapter IX. The different Hindu Sects. — Vishnavites and
Sivaites. — The Exterior Marks and Customs peculiar to each. —
The Pavadam. — The Mutual Hatreds and Differences between the
Sects. — Reason for the Dislike which ordinary Brahmins feel for
Vishnavite Brahmins and those belonging to other Sects. — Sub-
divisions of the two Principal Sects ..... 111-123
Chapter X. The Gurus, or Hindu Priests. — The Portrait of a
true Guru,. — Their Temporal and Spiritual Power. — The Fear and
vxx CONTENTS
PACES
Respect that they inspire. — Ecclesiastical Hierarchy composed of
the Superior and Inferior Priests. — The Honours paid to them. —
Priestesses 123-133
Chapter XI. Purohitas, or Priests who officiate at Public and
Private Ceremonies. — The Hindu Almanac as published by the
Purohitas 134-138
Chapter XII. MarUrama. — Their Efficacy. — The Gayatri. —
The word ' Awn.' — Magic Mantrams 138-143
Chapter XIII. Explanation of the Principal Ceremonies of
the Brahmins and of other Castes. — The Sam-kalpa. — Puja. —
Aratti. — Akshatas. — Pavitram. — Sesamum and Darbha Grass. —
Puniaha-vacluma. — Panclia-gavia. — Purification of Places where
Ceremonies take place. — Pandals, or Pavilions made of Leaves 143-155
Chapter XIV. Ceremonies to be observed after a Woman's Con-
finement. — Ceremonies performed over Infants . . . 155-159
PART II.
The Four States of Brahminical Life.
Chapter I. The Bralimachari. — Ceremony of the Upanayana,
or Investiture of the Triple Cord 160-170
Chapter II. Conduct of the Brahrnachari. — Rules to be fol-
lowed. — Rights acquired by investiture with the Cord. — The Six
Privileges of Brahmins. — The Vedas 170-178
Chapter III. External Defilements. The care that a Brahmin
should take to avoid them. — His Conduct in this respect. — Means
of Purification 178-186
Chapter IV. Internal Defilements. — Abstinence from all
Intoxicating Liquors, and from everything that has had Life. —
Particular Horror of the Brahmins for the Flesh of the Cow. — Their
Abhorrence of Europeans who eat it as Food . . . 186-194
Chapter V. Defilements of the Soul, and the Means of Purifica-
tion. — Places of Purification. — Sins for which there is no Forgive-
ness. — Conjectures on the Origin of Brahmin Customs connected
with Defilement and Purification. — Defilement by Europeans, and
an Incident which happened to the Author from this Cause . 194-204
Chapter VI. Marriage amongst Brahmins and other Hindus.
— Celibacy. — Those who may remain unmarried. — Polygamy
tolerated only amongst the Upper Classes. — The two Sexes nearly
equal in numbers. — Indissolubility of the Marriage Tie. — How
Marriages are arranged. — Preparatory Ceremonies. — Solemn Cere-
monies for the first and following Days. — Marriage amongst Sudras.
— Marriage amongst Kshatriyas. — Duties after Marriage . 205-235
Chapter VII. The Second, or Grahastha, Status of Brahmin. —
Rules of Life which the Brahmin Grahastha should daily follow. —
CONTEXTS
XXXI
Introduction. — Forms to bo observed when relieving Nature and
when Washing. — Manner of cleansing the Teeth. — Sandhya, Part I.
— Rules relating to Ablutions. — The Correct Order of Daily Avoca-
tions. — Rules to be followed when Eating and when going to Bed.
— Sandhya, Part II. — Mantrams of which the Sandhya is com-
posed. — Sandhya for Morning, Noon, and Evening. — Conclusion. —
General Remarks . . 235-269
Chapter VIII. Brahminical Fasts. — The Custom of. Rubbing
the Head and Body with Oil. — The Over-indulgence of Brahmins. —
— Their Scrupulous Observance of Custom. — Reflections on this
Subject. — Their Samaradhanas, or Public Feasts. — Sudra Feasts 269-281
Chapter IX. The Kinds of Food expressly forbidden to Brah-
mins.— Occult Rites.— The Disgusting Rite called Sakti . 282-288
Chapter X. The Various Occupations of Brahmins . 288-295
Chapter XL Religious Tolerance amongst the Brahmins. —
Their Indifference with regard to their own Religion. — Their Sub-
lime Ideas of the Deity. — A Comparison between them and the
Greek Philosophers. — The State of Christianity. — The Political
Intolerance and Ignorant Presumption of Brahmins . . 295-306
Chapter XII. The Morality of Brahmins. — Their Deceit and
Dissimulation. — Their Want of Filial Devotion. — Their Inconti-
nence. — Causes of their Depravity. — Unnatural Offences. — Out-
ward Decency. — The Chastity of their Women. — Brahmin Methods
of Revenge. — Brahmin Selfishness 306-315
Chapter XILT. The Outward Appearance of Brahmins and
other Hindus. — Their PhysicalDefects. — Remarks on the Kakrelaks
or Albinoes, as described by Naturalists, who are not allowed Burial
after Death. — Other Hindus to whom the same Honour is denied.
— Exhumation of Corpses. — The Feeble Physique of the Hindus. —
The same Feebleness and Deterioration to be observed throughout
the Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms. — Weakness of the Mental
Faculties of Hindus. — The Language of the Brahmins. — Their
Costume.— Their Houses 316-325
Chapter XIV. Rules of Etiquette amongst Brahmins and
other Hindus. — Modes of Greeting 326-331
Chapter XV. The Ornaments worn by Hindus. — The Dif-
ferent Marks with which they adorn their Bodies . . . 332-335
Chapter XVI. Brahmin Wives. — The Education of Women. —
Ceremonies which take place when they arrive at a Marriageable
Age,and during Pregnancy. — The Low Estimation in which Women
are held in Private Life. — The Respect that is paid to them in
Public— Their Clothing and Ornaments .... 336-342
Chapter XVII. Rules of Conduct for Married Women . 343-349
Chapter XVIII. Mourning.— The Condition of Widowhood.—
The General Contempt for Widows. — Remarriages forbidden. 350-355
xxxii CONTENTS
PAGES
Chapter XIX. The Custom which at times obliges Widows to
allow themselves to be burnt alive on the Funeral Pyre of their
Deceased Husbands 355-3C7
Chapter XX. Adoption. — Rules regarding the Partition of
Property 368-376
Chapter XXI. The Learning of the Brahmins.— Their Colleges.
— Astronomy. — Astrology. — Magic 376-392
Chapter XXII. The Poetry of the Hindus . . . 392-401
Chapter XXIII. Brahmin Philosophy. — The Six Sects called
ShanMata.— The Doctrine of the Buddhists . . . . 401-415
Chapter XXIV. Chronology of the Brahmins. — The Epoch of
the Flood 415-420
Chapter XXV. The Epistolary Style of the Brahmins. — Hindu
Handwriting 420-433
Chapter XXVI. Hindu Fables 433-450
Chapter XXVII. Hindu Tales 450-474
Chapter XXVIII. Niti Slohas, or Moral Stanzas . . 474-482
Chapter XXIX. The Funeral Ceremonies of Brahmins . 482-489
Chapter XXX. The Various Ceremonies observed after Burial
in Honour of the Dead 489-500
Chapter XXXI. The Third Condition of Brahmins, viz. Yana-
prastha, or Dweller in the Jungle. — The Respect paid to Yanapras-
thas. — Conjectures as to their Origin. — Comparison between them
and the Wise Men of Greece and other Philosophers. — The Rules of
theVanaprasthas. — Their Renunciation of the World and Pleasures
of the Senses.— Their Moral Virtues 5C0-509
Chapter XXXLT. Sacrifices of the Vanaprastlia Brahmins. —
Sacrifice of the Yagnam. — The Lesser Yagnam. — The Greater
Yagnam. — The Giants, Enemies of the Vanaprasthas . . 509-517
Chapter XXXIII. Penance as a Means of purifying the Soul.
— The Penance of the Yanaprasthas. — Modern Gymnosophists, or
Naked Penitents.— Purification by Fire .... 517-522
Chapter XXXIV. The Fourth State of the Brahmins, that
of the Sannyasi. — Preparation for this Holy State. — Ceremonies
of Initiation. — Rules to be followed by the Sannyasi . . 522-527
Chapter XXXV. A Sannyasi' 's Principal Duties. — Meditation.
— Its Various Stages. — What it consists of, and how Hindu Devo-
tees practise it. — General Remarks. — Comparisons between the
Hindu Sannyasis and those who lead Similar Lives among
Christians . 528-538
Chapter XXXVI. The Funeral Ceremonies of Brahmin Sann-
yasis ........... 538-541
CONTENTS xxxiii
PART III.
Religion.
pages
Chapter I. Origin of the Trimurti and the Primitive Idolatry
of the Hindus.— Comparison between the Greek and Indian Divi-
nities. — Peculiar Idolatry of the Hindus. — Worship of the Elements
represented by the Trimurti 542-555
Chapter II. Metempsychosis. — Explanation of this Religious
Doctrine. — Penalties for Different Sins. — The Hindus as Authors
of the Doctrine of Metempsychosis. — Difference between them and
the Greeks in this Respect. — Naraka, or Hell ; Punishments en-
dured there. — Abodes of Bliss ...... 556-567
Chapter III. Hindu Feasts. — The New- Year Feast. — The
Feast of the Household Gods. — Commemoration of the Dead. —
Feast of the Schools. — Feasts in Honour of Serpents. — Military
Feasts. — The Feast of Lamps. — Sacrifices to Plants. — The Feast
of the Lingayats. — The Pongvl Ceremonies. — General Remarks 567-577
Chapter IV. Hindu Temples. — Ceremonies performed inthem.
— Temples built on Mountains. — Pyramids. — The Architecture of
Pagodas. — The Shape and Ornaments of the Idols. — Their Conse-
cration. — Sacred Pillars. — Temple Priests and Servants. — Sacri-
fices. — Dancing-girls. — Musicians. — Hindu Music. — Brahmin
Tricks and Artifices for attracting Worshippers. — The Hindu Desire
for Children. — The Revolting Practices to which they submit to
obtain them. — Remarkable Ceremonies and Vows. — Prostitution
in Certain Temples. — Religious Tortures. — The Rape of Women. —
Famous Temples. — Tirupati. — Jagannath. — Public Processions.
—General Remarks 577-612
Chapter V. The Principal Gods of the Hindus. — Brahma. —
Vi shnu. — Rama. — Krishna. — Siva. — The Lingam. — Vigneshwara.
— Indra. — The Abodes of Bliss of these Different Gods. — Swarga.
— Kailasa. — Vaikuniha. — Sattya-loJca ..... 612-636
Chapter VI. The Worship of Animals. — The Worship of Mon-
keys.— Of Bulls.— Of the Guruda Bird.— Of Snakes.— Of Fishes.—
The Worship of BTiootams, or Evil Spirits. — Human Sacrifices 636-648
Chapter VII. Inanimate Objects of Worship. — The Salagrama
Stone.— The Tulasi.—Darbha Grass.— The Sacred Fig-Tree . 648-653
Chapter VIII. The Administration of Civil and Criminal Jus-
tice. — Customs connected with Usury. — Various Kinds of Punish-
ment. — Trial by Ordeal. — The Prevalence of Perjury. — Remarks
on the European Courts of Justice 654-667
Chapter IX. The Military System of the Hindus.— Ancient
and Modern Methods of Warfare. — The Material formerly com-
posing their Armies. — The Military Game of Chess invented by the
Hindus. — Poligars. — Different Weapons that have been in Use at
Various Times in India 667-684
xxxiv CONTENTS
PAGES
APPENDIX I. The Jains. — Differences between them and the
Brahmins 685-700
Appendix II. The Eka-Dasi, or Eleventh Day of the Moon 701-706
Appendix III. Siva-Ratri, or Siva's Night . . . 706-708
Appendix IV. Rules of Conduct for Women during their
Periodical Uncleanness ....... 708-710
Appendix V. Remarks on the Origin of the Famous Temple
ofJagannath 710-716
Appendix VI. Trial by Ordeal.— Its Different Forms . 717-722
Index .... ..... 723-741
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
Though Europeans have possessed settlements in India
for more than three centuries, it is only within recent
times that authentic details have been obtained with
respect to the people who dwell in this vast country and
whose ancient civilization, methods of government, manners,
creeds, and customs, are nevertheless so well worthy of
notice. It is impossible to doubt for a moment that science
and art nourished amongst these nations at an epoch when
our most civilized countries of the West were still plunged
in the dark abyss of ignorance. The various forms of their
institutions, both political and social ; their knowledge of
mathematics, especially of astronomy ; their systems of
metaphysics and ethics : all of these had long ago made
the people of India famous far beyond their own borders ;
while the renown of Hindu philosophers had reached even
Europe. The many ill-informed and often contradictory
narratives about India which have been published in
modern times have deservedly fallen into discredit. Yet,
it must be admitted, some good work has been done by
certain Literary Societies that have of recent years been
established in India, the members of which, possessing
access to original sources of information, have begun to
survey with a more critical eye these records of divine and
human knowledge, whose depositaries have hitherto guarded
them with zealous care behind a veil of mystery. Without
doubt the members of these Societies, distinguished as they
mostly are by their erudition, will continue to devote
special study to the languages of the country and to make
abundant use of the sources of information open to them.
Yet, it must be confessed, the information which we possess
about the people of India is very meagre compared with
that which it is most important for us to acquire. The
DUBOIS B
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
ancient history of their country is, for one tiling, enshrouded
in chimera and fable, and, unfortunately, such incoherence
and such obscurity prevail in their written records, which
are our only means of really getting at the truth, that it
is not too much to presume that we shall never succeed in
throwing proper light on all this mass of absurdities. The
most popular and best known of these written records are
the Bd may ana, the Bhagavata, and the Mahdbhdrata ' ;
but the information which their authors give about the
dates, events, and duration of the different dynasties ;
about the heroes of India and their prowess in war ; about
the various revolutions which occurred in the country and
the circumstances which led to them ; about the beginnings
of Hindu polity ; about the discoveries and progress in
science and art ; in a word, about all the most interesting
features of history, — all information of this kind is, as it
were, buried amid a mass of fable and superstition.
My readers will see in the following pages to what ex-
tremes the people of India carry their belief in and love
for the marvellous. Their first historians were in reality
poets, who seem to have decided that they could not do
better than compose their poems in the spirit of the people
for whom they were writing. That is to say, they were
guided solely by the desire to please their readers, and
accordingly clothed Truth in such a grotesque garb as to
render it a mere travesty from an historical point of view.
The Indian Muse of History thus became a kind of magician
whose wand performed wonders. The successors of these
first poet-historians were actuated by the same motives,
and even thought that it added to their own glory to
improve on their predecessors and to surpass them in the
absurdity of their fictions.
While waiting for inquirers, more skilful than myself, to
find a way through this labyrinth, which to me is absolutely
inextricable, I offer to the public a large number of authentic
records which I have carefully collected, and which, for
the most part, contain particulars that are either un-
known or only partially known, in the hope that they
will be found not altogether devoid of interest. I believe,
1 These arc the three great Hindu Epic poems. Vide Part II,
Chapter XXII, and Part III, Chapter V.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 3
at any rate, that they will be aeknowledged to contain
some useful materials for future savants who may under-
take a complete and methodical treatise on the people of
India, a task which is far beyond my powers and which
moreover I could not possibly have laid upon myself,
seeing that I was without literary aids of any kind during
my long and absolute seclusion amongst the natives of the
country.
In this new edition the contents of my first MS. have
been carefully revised and corrected. They have, more-
over, been considerably augmented by many curious details
which did not appear in the original document. At the
same time, I have made no substantial changes in the
order and classification of the contents. Five or six
additional chapters, and a number of corrections and im-
provements in the body of the work, constitute all the
difference between this and the earlier draft. Since the
English translation of the latter appeared, great political
changes have taken place amongst the people whose
manners and institutions I have sketched ; but, as these
changes were not taken into account in my original plan,
I have not considered myself bound, when referring to
them, to go beyond the limits which I prescribed for myself
in the first instance. In all that I say about the administra-
tion of the Peninsula my readers will at once perceive that
I have in mind the Governments preceding that which has
now made itself master of the destinies of the Indian people,
and which has freed them from the iron yoke of a long
series of arbitrary rulers, under whose oppression they
groaned during so many centuries.
This colossal dominion, which a European Government
has succeeded in establishing in India without any very
great difficulty and without any very violent shocks, has
filled the people of India with admiration, and has fully
convinced the Powers of Asia of the great superiority of
Europeans in every way, and more especially in the art
of subjugating and governing nations.
We too may well wonder at a conquest which appears
indeed almost miraculous. It is difficult for us to imagine
how a mere handful of men managed to coerce into sub-
missive obedience a hundred millions of people, scattered
4 AUTHOR'S PREFACE
over a country which extends for twenty-four degrees of
latitude north and south and for nearly the same number
of degrees east and west. And it is still more difficult to
understand how these few men are able to maintain within
the bounds of duty and subordination a population whose
creeds, habits, customs, and manner of life are so absolutely
different from their own.
Yet one will have little or no difficulty in accounting for
such a phenomenon if one examines on the one hand the
spirit, character, and institutions of the people governed,
and on the other the system adopted by those governing
them. The people of India have always been accustomed
to bow their heads beneath the yoke of a cruel and oppres-
sive despotism, and moreover, strange to say, have always
displayed mere indifference towards those who have forced
them to it. Little cared they whether the princes under
whom they groaned were of their own country or from
foreign lands l . The frequent vicissitudes that befell those
in power were hardly noticed by their subjects. Never did
the fall of one of these despots cause the least regret ;
never did the elevation of another cause the least joy.
Hard experience had taught the Hindus to disregard not
only the hope of better times but the fear of worse. The
fable of the ass urged by its master to escape from approach-
ing robbers is most appropriate to these people. They
have always considered themselves lucky enough if their
religious and domestic institutions were left untouched by
those who by good fortune or force of arms had got hold of
the reins of government.
The European Power which is now established in India
is, properly speaking, supported neither by physical force
nor by moral influence. It is a piece of huge, complicated
machinery, moved by springs which have been arbitrarily
adapted to it. Under the supremacy of the Brahmins the
people of India hated their government, while they cherished
and respected their rulers ; under the supremacy of Euro-
peans they hate and despise their rulers from the bottom
of their hearts, while they cherish and respect their govern-
ment. And here I would remark that the rule of all the
1 This is illustrated in the familiar proverb, ' What matters it whether
Rama reigns or the Rakshasa (Ravana) reigns ? '— Eu.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 5
Hindu princes, and often that of the Mahomedans, was,
properly speaking, Brahminical rule, since all posts of
confidence were held by Brahmins.
If it be possible to ameliorate the condition of the people
of India I am convinced that this desirable result will be
attained under the new regime, whatever may be said by
detractors who are ready to find fault with everything.
Whatever truth indeed there may be in the prejudiced
charges, engendered by ignorance and interested motives,
which are brought against the new order of things, and
which are perhaps inseparable from every great administra-
tion, I for one cannot believe that a nation so eminently
distinguished for its beneficent and humane principles of
government at home, and above all for its impartial justice
to all classes alike — I for one cannot believe that this
nation will ever be blind enough to compromise its own
noble character by refusing participation in these benefits
to a subject people which is content to live peaceably under
its sway.
At the same time I venture to predict that it will attempt
in vain to effect any very considerable changes in the
social condition of the people of India, whose character,
principles, customs, and ineradicable conservatism will
always present insurmountable obstacles. To make a
people happy, it is essential that they themselves should
desire to be made happy and should co-operate with those
who are working for their happiness. Now, the people of
India, it appears to me, neither possess this desire nor are
anxious to co-operate to this end. Every reform which is
obviously devised for their well-being they obstinately push
aside if it is likely in the least degree to disturb their manner
of living, their most absurd prejudice, or their most puerile
custom.
Nevertheless the justice and prudence which the present
rulers display in endeavouring to make these people less
unhappy than they have been hitherto ; the anxiety they
manifest in increasing their material comfort ; above all,
the inviolable respect which they constantly show for the
customs and religious beliefs of the country ; and, lastly,
the protection they afford to the weak as well as to the
strong, to the Brahmin as to the Pariah, to the Christian,
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
to the Mahomedan, and to the Pagan : all those have con-
tributed more to the consolidation of their power than even
their victories and conquests.
There is another circumstance no less remarkable which
may account for the stability and power of this Govern-
ment, and that is the sagacity with which it has chosen
persons to fill places of responsibility under it. For up-
rightness of character, education, and ability it would be
hard to find a body of public servants better capable of
filling with zeal and distinction the offices, more or less
important, that are entrusted to them.
During the thirty years spent by me in the various
provinces of India I have had the honour of knowing
a very large number of these public servants, and it gives
me much pleasure to testify here to the many excellent
qualities which I have almost invariably found them to
possess. Cast away, as it were, on the shores of this
foreign land at a time when my own country was a prey
to all the horrors of a disastrous revolution, I never failed
to receive from them the warmest hospitality. Even
when a desperate war might well have given rise to bitter
prejudice against everything French, I never failed to find
amongst the rulers of India many friends and benefactors.
Would that the fear of offending their modesty did not
forbid my mentioning here in testimony of my regard the
names of many of them equally distinguished for their
high merit and for their commanding position. But even
at the risk of appearing indiscreet I cannot pass over one
of them in silence. I cannot, in the fullness of my gratitude,
abstain from mentioning publicly how much I owe to the
Honourable Mr. Arthur Henry Cole, the British Resident
in Mysore. This worthy official, whose public and domestic
virtues, inexhaustible charity, and polished manners are
recognized throughout the whole of the Peninsula, has
found a fitting recognition of his fine character in the love
and respect of the natives subject to his jurisdiction, who
with one voice have hailed him as the father of their country.
All that he has done for the natives of Mysore will be long
remembered by them. As regards myself, nothing can
equal the many acts of kindness which he has heaped upon
me during my stay of twenty years in the province subject
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 7
to his authority. If these words ever reach him I trust
that he will recognize in them the genuine feelings of
respect and gratitude which I shall ever cherish towards
him.
One might accuse me of blind prejudice if I went so far
as to affirm that everybody vested with authority in this
land was without exception worthy of high praise. The
fact is, we do not live in an age of miracles. It is probable,
it is even certain, that not all of those entrusted with the
supervision of this huge political machinery are influenced
by the purest motives. And yet the system of watchful
control is such that any man who allows himself to be
tempted from the path of duty by greed and avarice
cannot hope to hide his corrupt doings from the eye of
superior authority for any length of time. Every subject
of the dominant power, however humble he may be, is
allowed the right of free petition ; and this is sufficient
guarantee that any well-founded grievances will be set
right, any well-proven abuses put a stop to.
It has been asserted that any great power based neither
on a display of force nor on the affection and esteem of
subject races is bound sooner or later to topple under its
own weight. I am far from sharing this opinion altogether.
The present Government occupies a position in which it
has little or nothing to fear from extraneous disturbance.
True it is that like all empires it is subject to possible
chances of internal dissension, military revolt, and general
insurrection. But I firmly believe that nothing of this
sort will happen to it so long as it maintains amongst its
troops the perfect discipline and the sense of comfort
which at present exist, and so long as it does all in its
power to make its yoke scarcely perceptible by permitting
its subjects every freedom in the exercise of their social
and religious practices l .
It is the poverty of the country which in my opinion
gives most cause for apprehension — a poverty which is
accompanied by the most extraordinary supineness on
the part of the people themselves. The question is, will
1 Students of Indian History will bear witness to the wisdom of the
Abbe's remarks, which subsequent history has so strikingly tended to
confirm. — Ed.
8 AUTHOR'S PREFACE
a Government which is rightly determined to be neither
unjust nor oppressive be able always to find within the
borders of this immense empire means sufficient to enable
it to meet the heavy expenses of its administration ' ?
But, after all, God alone can foretell the destiny of Govern-
ments !
But I must return to the contents of my work. During
my long sojourn in India I never let slip any opportunity
of collecting materials and particulars of all sorts. My
information has been drawn partly from the books which
are held in highest estimation amongst the people of India
and partly from such scattered records as fell by chance
into my hands and contained facts upon which I could
thoroughly rely. But in regard to the majority of the
materials which I now offer to the public I am chiefly
dependent on my own researches, having lived in close
and familiar intercourse with persons of every caste and
condition of life. Probably many Europeans settled in
India would have been more capable than myself of per-
forming the same task ; but I may be permitted to doubt
whether there has been any person more favourably
situated for gleaning information or more zealous in his
pursuit of knowledge. I had no sooner arrived amongst
the natives of India than I recognized the absolute necessity
of gaining their confidence. Accordingly I made it my
constant rule to live as they did. I adopted their style of
clothing, and I studied their customs and methods of life
in order to be exactly like them. I even went so far as
to avoid any display of repugnance to the majority of their
peculiar prejudices. By such circumspect conduct I was
able to ensure a free and hearty welcome from people of
all castes and conditions, and was often favoured of their
own accord with the most curious and interesting par-
ticulars about themselves.
In publishing these records of my researches I have no
wisli to aspire to literary fame. I have noted down just
what I saw, just what I heard, just what I read. I have
aimed only at simplicity and accuracy. If I have here
and there ventured to give a few opinions and conjectures
1 Within these few lines the Abbe, with extraordinary insight, has
embodied the great problem of British administration in India. — Ed.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 9
of my own, I beg that my readers will not suppose that
I have done so out of vanity and with the object of posing
as a profound scholar, which I am not. However severely
critics may attack my work, they cannot be more keenly
aware of its imperfections than myself. I know well that
my researches might have been presented in a form more
agreeable, more animated, and more methodical. There
are many matters mentioned by me which called for more
profound discussion, clearer criticism, and wider treatment.
A more correct and more brilliant style would have con-
cealed the dryness of certain details. But I beg indulgent
readers to consider the circumstances which have prevented
me from satisfying such conditions. Separated as I was
for more than thirty years from all intercourse with my
fellow-countrymen, communicating only rarely and occa-
sionally with Europeans, passing my whole life in villages
in the midst of rude cultivators of the soil, deprived of
all the advantages which great cities offer to those writers
who are clever enough to profit by the labours of
their predecessors, prevented from invoking the aid and
counsel of intelligent men, having no books to refer to
except my Bible and a few writings without merit and
without interest which chance rather than choice put into
my hands, compelled indeed to rely upon the imperfect
recollection of what I had read and learned in my youth :
with all these disadvantages it was only to be expected
that my work would be defective. Nevertheless I am
persuaded that the notes which I have taken so much
trouble to collect will afford some useful material to others
more favourably situated than myself ; and I have there-
fore no hesitation in offering them to the public.
There is one motive which above all others has in-
fluenced my determination. It struck me that a faithful
picture of the wickedness and incongruities of polytheism
and idolatry would by its very ugliness help greatly to set
off the beauties and perfections of Christianity. It was
thus that the Lacedaemonians placed drunken slaves in
the sight of their children in order to inspire the latter
with a horror of intemperance.
There is every reason to believe that the true God was
well known to the people of India at the time when they
B 3
10 AUTHOR'S PREFACE
first banded themselves together us a nation. For who
can doubt that our blessed religion was originally that of
the whole world ? Who can doubt that it would have
exercised universal sway from the days of Adam to the
end of time if its original form as established by God
Himself and its primitive traditions had been carefully
respected 2 Unfortunately human passion gained the
upper hand. Whole nations were corrupted, and men
made for themselves a religion more suited to the depravity
of their own hearts. Nevertheless, what has now become
of the innumerable deities of Greece and Rome ? They
have vanished like an empty, transitory dream. Let us
pray that the Almighty may be pleased to allow the torch
of Truth to illumine the countries watered by the Ganges !
Doubtless the time is still far distant when the stubborn
Hindu will open his eyes to the light and tear himself
away from his dark superstitions ; but let us not despair,
a day will come when the standard of the Cross will be
flying over the temples of India as it flies now over her
strong places 1 .
Certain statements to be found in my work will seem
almost incredible to my readers. All that I can say is
that I have set down nothing without assuring myself
most carefully of its truthfulness. For the rest, my
readers will feel much less doubt as to the accuracy of
these statements when they have learned to recognize
how eminently original the people of India are in their
manners and customs. So original are they, indeed, that
one may search in vain for types, or anything approaching
to types, of them amongst other nations of the world,
ancient or modern.
With regard to caste usages I must warn my readers
that my researches were confined to the provinces south
of the Kistna River, where I passed most of the time that
1 Yet even now the number of Christians in India is, comparatively
speaking, small. They form about '75 per cent, of the whole popula-
tion, and nearly 75 per cent, of the total are found in Madras, Tra van-
core, Hyderabad, Mysore, and Cochin. And concerning the native
Christians of these parts a distinguished and much-travelled member of
the Civil Service recently remarked, ' Their Christianity, as I have seen
it, too often breathes but little of the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount.'
—Ed.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 11
I was in India. I cannot say whether these usages are the
same to the north of that river and in Hindustan proper ;
but if any differences there be it is probable that they
exist only in form. There is no place in India which does
not possess certain customs and practices of its own, and
it would be impossible to give descriptions of them all.
Fundamentally, however, caste constitutions are the same
everywhere. Furthermore, however many the shades of
difference between the various castes, however diversified
the customs that control them, only slight differences
exist between the various forms of religious belief. Indeed,
the religion of the Hindus may be said to form a common
centre for the numerous elements which constitute Hinduism
in its widest sense. Moreover there is a certain general
uniformity of rule and practice in everyday social matters,
which compels one to look upon the different masses of
the population as belonging in reality to one big family.
Nevertheless, whatever I may say in the following pages
must not be given a too general meaning, for it is hardly
necessary to point out that in such a huge country there
are many peculiarities of language and custom which are
purely local in character. For instance, a careful observer
would see less resemblance between a Tamil and a Canarese,
between a Telugu and a Mahratta, than between a French-
man and an Englishman, an Italian and a German.
Even when they migrate or travel from one province
to another, natives of India never throw off what I may
call the characteristics of their natal soil. In the midst of
their new surroundings they invariably preserve their own
language and customs.
On the Malabar coast one may count five different
tribes, established from time immemorial, within a hundred
leagues of territory north and south. They are the Xairs
or Naiftiars, the Kurgas or Kudagas, the Tulus, the Kon-
kanis, and the Kanaras. Although amalgamated in some
degree, each of these tribes still preserves to the present
day the language and mode of life peculiar to the place
from which it originally sprang. The same thing may be
remarked throughout the Peninsula, but especially in the
Tamil country and in Mysore, where many families of
Telusus are to be found whose ancestors were obliged for
12 AUTHOR'S PREFACE
various reasons to quit their native soil and migrate thither.
The remembrance of their original birthplace is engraved
on the hearts of these Telugus, and they always carefully
avoid following the peculiar usages of their adoptive
country. Yet they are invariably treated with the most
perfect tolerance. Indeed, every native of India is quite
free to take up his abode wherever it may seem good to
him. Nobody will quarrel with him for living his own life,
speaking what language he pleases, or following whatever
customs he is used to. All that is asked of him is that
lie should conform generally to the accustomed rules of
decorum recognized in the neighbourhood.
The Brahmin caste has seemed to me to merit particular
attention. It is the caste whose rules and practices are
most scrupulously observed. All persons who have visited
India or who have any notion of the character of the
Brahmins, of the high esteem in which they hold them-
selves, and of the distant hauteur with which they treat
the common people, will be able to appreciate the diffi-
culties which anybody must encounter who would become
intimate, or even acquainted, with these proud personages.
The hate and contempt which they cherish against all
strangers, and especially against Europeans ; the jealous
inquietude with which they hide from the profane the
mysteries of their religious cult ; the records of their learn-
ing ; the privacy of their homes : all these form barriers
between themselves and their observers which it is almost
impossible to pass \
Nevertheless, by much diplomacy and perseverance
I have succeeded in surmounting most of the obstacles
which have turned back so many others before me. I there-
fore trust that the minute particulars which I have given
in this work will be accepted as a record of all that it is
useful to know about the religious ceremonies and ritual
of the Hindus.
I have divided this work into three parts. The first
presents a general purview of society in India, and con-
tains details concerning all classes of its inhabitants. In
1 Since the Abbe wrote, vast stores of Brahminical lore have been
brought to light by enterprising savants in Europe, especially by Professor
Max Miiller. — Ed.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 13
Hie second part I have discussed the Brahmins more par-
ticularly, both in themselves and in relation to other castes.
The third part contains particulars of the religious tenets
and deities of India.
Among the papers which are published separately, as
Appendices, there is one on the Jains which I hope will be
read not without interest. These schismatics are to be
found in great numbers in the western provinces of the
Peninsula, and especially in Malabar, where they represent
the majority of the population. They form a perfectly
distinct class, and differ widely from the Brahmins in many
essential points of doctrine and practice.
PART I
GENERAL VIEW OF SOCIETY IN INDIA,
AND GENERAL REMARKS ON THE CASTE SYSTEM
CHAPTER I
Division and Subdivision of Castes. — Castes peculiar to Certain Pro-
vinces. — Particular Usages of some Castes. — Division of Castes
founded on Parentage. — Subordination of Castes. — Outward Signs
of certain Castes. — Division of Caste-groups into Right-hand and
Left-hand.
The word caste is derived from the Portuguese, and is
used in Europe to designate the different tribes or classes
into which the people of India are divided l . The most
ordinary classification, and at the same time the most
ancient, divides them into four main castes. The first
and most distinguished of all is that of Brahmana, or
Brahmins ; the second in rank is that of Kshatriyas, or
Rajahs ; the third the Vaisyas, or Landholders and Mer-
chants ; and the fourth the Sudras, or Cultivators and
Menials.
The functions proper to each of these four main castes
are : for Brahmins, priesthood and its various duties ; for
Kshatriyas, military service in all its branches ; for Vaisyas,
agriculture, trade, and cattle-breeding ; and for Sudras,
general servitude. But I will describe more fully hereafter
the several social distinctions which are attached to each
of them.
Each of the four main castes is subdivided into many
others, the number of which it is difficult to determine
1 The Sanskrit word is Varna = colour, thus showing that upon the
difference of colour between the Aryan Brahmins and the aboriginal
inhabitants the distinction of caste was originally founded. — Pope.
THE FOUR MAIN CASTES 15
because the subdivisions vary according to locality, and
a sub-caste existing in one province is not necessarily found
in another.
Amongst the Brahmins of the south of the Peninsula,
for example, there are to be found three or four principal
divisions, and each of these again is subdivided into at
least twenty others. The lines of demarcation between
them are so well defined as to prevent any kind of union
between one sub-caste and another, especially in the case
of marriage.
The Kshatriyas and Vaisyas are also split up into many
divisions and subdivisions. In Southern India neither
Kshatriyas nor Vaisyas are very numerous ; but there are
considerable numbers of the former in Northern India.
Howbeit, the Brahmins assert that the true Kshatriya
caste no longer exists, and that those who pass for such
are in reality a debased race.
The Sudra caste is divided into most sub-castes. Nobody
in any of the provinces where I have lived has ever been
able to inform me as to the exact number and names of
them. It is a common saying, however, that there are
18 chief sub-castes, which are again split up into 108 lesser
divisions.
The Sudras are the most numerous of the four main
castes. They form, in fact, the mass of the population,
and added to the Pariahs, or Outcastes, they represent at
least nine-tenths of the inhabitants. When we consider
that the Sudras possess almost a monopoly of the various
forms of artisan employment and manual labour, and that
in India no person can exercise two professions at a time,
it is not surprising that the numerous individuals who
form this main caste are distributed over so many distinct
branches.
However, there are several classes of Sudras that exist
only in certain provinces. Of all the provinces that
I lived in, the Dravidian, or Tamil, country is the one
where the ramifications of caste appeared to me most
numerous. There are not nearly so many ramifications of
caste in Mysore or the Deccan. Nowhere in these latter
provinces have I come across castes corresponding to
those which are known in the Tamil country under the
1(> CASTES PECULIAR TO CERTAIN PROVINCES
names of MoodeUy, Agambady, Nattaman, Totiyar, Udaiyan,
VcUeyen, Upiliyen, Pollen, and several others 1 .
It should be remarked, however, that those Sudra castes
which are occupied exclusively in employments indispens-
able to all civilized societies are to be found everywhere
under names varying with the languages of different
localities. Of such I may cite, amongst others, the gar-
deners, the shepherds, the weavers, the Panchalas (the
five castes of artisans, comprising the carpenters, gold-
smiths, blacksmiths, founders, and in general all workers
in metals), the manufacturers and venders of oil, the
fishermen, the potters, the washermen, the barbers, and
some others. All these form part of the great main caste
of Sudras ; but the different castes of cultivators hold the
first rank and disdainfully regard as their inferiors all
those belonging to the professions just mentioned, refusing
to eat with those who practise them.
In some districts there are castes which are not to be
met with elsewhere, and which may be distinguished by
peculiarities of their own. I am not aware, for example,
that the very remarkable caste of Nairs, whose women
enjoy the privilege of possessing several husbands, is to be
found anywhere but in Travancore 2 . Amongst these same
people, again, is another distinct caste called Nambudiri,
which observes one abominable and revolting custom. The
girls of this caste are usually married before the age of
puberty ; but if a girl who has arrived at an age when
the signs of puberty are apparent happens to die before
having had intercourse with a man, caste custom rigorously
demands that the inanimate corpse of the deceased shall
be subjected to a monstrous connexion. For this purpose
the girl's parents are obliged to procure by a present of
money some wretched fellow willing to consummate such
a disgusting form of marriage : for were the marriage
1 Moodelly, ' chief man ' or highly respectable trader. Agambady, he
who performs menial offices in temples or palaces. Nattaman, a caste of
cultivators. Totiyar, a caste of labourers. Udaiyan, a potter. Yaleyen,
a fisherman. Upiliyen, salt manufacturer. Fallen, agriculturist. — Ed.
2 It would be more correct to say West Coast. Moreover, although
Xair women are commonly described as polyandrous, they are not really
so, for though they enjoy the privilege of changing their husbands, they
do not entertain more than one husband at a time. — Ed.
CASTES PECULIAR TO CERTAIN PROVINCES 17
not consummated the family would consider itself dis-
honoured \
The caste of Kullars, or robbers, who exercise their
calling as an hereditary right, is found only in the Marava
country, which borders on the coast, or fishing, districts.
The rulers of the country are of the same caste. They
regard a robber's occupation as discreditable neither to
themselves nor to their fellow castemen, for the simple
reason that they consider robbery a duty and a right
sanctioned by descent. They are not ashamed of their
caste or occupation, and if one were to ask of a Kullar to
what people he belonged he would coolly answer, ' I am
a robber ! ' This caste is looked upon in the district of
Madura, where it is widely diffused, as one of the most
distinguished among the Sudras.
There exists in the same part of the country another
caste, known as the Totiyars, in which brothers, uncles,
nephews, and other near relations are all entitled to possess
their wives in common.
In Eastern Mysore there is a caste called Morsa-Okkala-
Makkalu, in which, when the mother of a family gives her
eldest daughter in marriage, she is obliged to submit to
the amputation of two joints of the middle finger and of
the ring finger of the right hand. And if the bride's mother
be dead, the bridegroom's mother, or in default of her the
1 Whatever may have been the case in the days of the Abbe, these
customs no longer exist. In regard to this, Mr. W. Logan, in his Manual
of Malabar, writes thus : ' To make tardy retribution — if it deserves
such a name — to women who die unmarried, the corpse, it is said,
cannot be burnt till a tali string (the Hindu equivalent of the wedding-
ring of Europe) is tied round the neck of the corpse, while lying on the
funeral pile, by a competent relative. Nambudiris are exceedingly
reticent in regard to their funeral ceremonies and observances, and the
Abbe Dubois' account of what was related to him regarding other
observances at this strange funeral-pile marriage requires confirmation.'
Careful inquiries made of the leading members of the Nambudiri com-
munity and of others in Malabar who have an intimate knowledge of
Nambudiri customs have convinced me that the Abbe must have mis-
understood his informant in regard to the practice which he records
here. What is done in such a case is merely to perform the religious
rites, usually associated with Hindu marriages, over the dead body of
the woman before the corpse is cremated. By marriage here is meant
merely the tying of the tali (the emblem of marriage) and not the act
of consummation of marriage. — Ed.
18 SPECIAL CASTE CUSTOMS
mother of the nearest relative, must submit to this eruel
mutilation 1 .
Many other castes exist in various districts which are
distinguished by practices no less foolish than those above
mentioned.
Generally speaking, there are few castes which are not
distinguished by some special custom quite apart from the
peculiar religious usages and ceremonies which the com-
munity may prescribe to guarantee or sanction civil con-
tracts. In the cut and colour of their clothes and in the
style of wearing them, in the peculiar shape of their jewels
and in the manner in which they are displayed on various
parts of the person, the various castes have many rules,
each possessing its own significance. Some observe rites
of their own in their funeral and marriage ceremonies :
others possess ornaments which they alone may use, or
flags of certain colours, for various ceremonies, which no
other caste may carry. Yet, absurd as some of these
practices may appear, they arouse neither contempt nor
dislike in members of other castes which do not admit
them. The most perfect toleration is the rule in such
matters. As long as a caste conforms on the whole to the
recognized rules of decorum it is permitted to follow its
own bent in its domestic affairs without interruption, and
no other castes ever think of blaming or even criticizing
it, although its practices may be in direct opposition to
their own.
There are, nevertheless, some customs which, although
scrupulously observed in the countries where they exist,
are so strongly opposed to the rules of decency and decorum
generally laid down that they are spoken of with dis-
approbation and sometimes with horror by the rest of the
community. The following may be mentioned among
practices of this nature.
In the interior of Mysore, women are obliged to accom-
pany the male inmates of the house whenever the latter
retire for the calls of nature, and to cleanse them with
water afterwards. This practice, which is naturally viewed
1 This custom is no longer observed ; instead of the two ringers being
amputated, they are now merely bound together and thus rendered unfit
for use. — Ed.
USE OF INTOXICATING LIQUORS 19
with disgust in other parts of the country, is here regarded
as a sign of good breeding and is most carefully observed 1 .
The use of intoxicating liquors, which is condemned by
respectable people throughout almost the whole of India,
is nevertheless permitted amongst the people who dwell in
the jungles and hill tracts of the West Coast. There the
leading castes of Sudras, not excepting even the women
and children, openly drink arrack, the brandy of the
country, and toddy, the fermented juice of the palm.
Each inhabitant in those parts has his toddy-dealer, who
regularly brings him a daily supply and takes in return an
equivalent in grain at harvest time.
The Brahmin inhabitants of these parts are forbidden
a like indulgence under the penalty of exclusion from
caste. But they supply the defect by opium, the use of
which, although universally interdicted elsewhere, is never-
theless considered much less objectionable than the use of
intoxicating liquors.
The people of these damp and unhealthy districts have
no doubt learnt by experience that a moderate use of
spirits or opium is necessary for the preservation of health,
and that it protects them, partially at any rate, against
the ill effects of the malarious miasma amidst which they
are obliged to live. Nothing indeed but absolute necessity
could have induced them to contravene in this way one
of the most venerable precepts of Hindu civilization.
The various classes of Sudras who dwell in the hills of
the Carnatic observe amongst their domestic regulations
a practice as peculiar as it is disgusting. Both men and
women pass their lives in a state of uncleanness and never
wash their clothes. When once they have put on cloths
fresh from the looms of the weavers they do not leave
them off until the material actually drops from rottenness.
One can imagine the filthy condition of these cloths after
they have been worn day and night for several months
soaked with perspiration and soiled with dirt, especially
in the case of the women, who continually use them for
wiping their hands, and who never change their garments
until wear and tear have rendered them absolutely useless.
1 If this custom ever existed, the spread of education has effectually
put a stop to it. — Ed.
20 A SABBATH OF THE 'LINGAYATS'
Yet this revolting habit is most religiously observed,
and, if anybody were so rash as to wash but once in water
the cloths with which he or she is covered, exclusion from
caste would be the inevitable consequence. This custom,
however, may be due to the scarcity of water, for in this
part of the country there are only a few stagnant ponds,
which would very soon be contaminated if all the in-
habitants of a village were allowed to wash their garments
in them.
Many religious customs are followed only by certain
sects, and are of purely local character. For instance, it
is only in the districts of Western Mysore that I have
observed Monday in each week kept nearly in the same
way as Sunday is among Christians. On that day the
villagers abstain from ordinary labour, and particularly
from such as, like ploughing, requires the use of oxen and
kine. Monday is consecrated to Basava (the Bull), and
is set apart for the special worship of that deity. Hence
it is a day of rest for their cattle rather than for themselves.
This practice, however, is not in vogue except in the
districts where the Lingayats, or followers of Siva 1 , pre-
dominate. This sect pays more particular homage to the
Bull than the rest of the Hindus ; and, in the districts
where it predominates, not only keeps up the strict observ-
ance of the day thus consecrated to the divinity, but forces
other castes to follow its example.
Independently of the divisions and subdivisions common
to all castes, one may further observe in each caste close
family alliances cemented by intermarriage. Hindus of
good family avoid as far as possible intermarriage with
families outside their own circle. They always aim at
marrying their children into the families which are already
1 Mr. L. Rice, in his Mysore and Coorg, remarks : ' Lingayats : The
distinctive mark of this caste is the wearing on the person of a Jangama
lingam, or portable linga. It is a small black stone about the size of
an acorn, and is enshrined in a silver box of peculiar shape, which is
worn suspended from the neck or tied round the arm. The followers of
Basava (the founder of the sect, whose name literally means Bull, was
in fact regarded as the incarnation of Nandi, the bull of Siva) are properly
called Liugavantas, but Lingayats has become a well-known designation,
though not used by themselves, the name Sivabhakta or Sivachar being
one they generally assume.' — Ed.
CLOSE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIPS 21
allied to them, and the nearer the relationship the more
easily are marriages contracted. A widower is remarried
to his deceased wife's sister, an uncle marries his niece,
and a first cousin his first cousin. Persons so related
possess an exclusive privilege of intermarrying, upon the
ground of such relationship ; and, if they choose, they
can prevent any other union and enforce their own pre-
ferential right, however old, unsuited, infirm, and poor
they may be 1 .
In this connexion, however, several strange and ridiculous
distinctions are made. An uncle may marry the daughter
of his sister, but in no case may he marry the daughter of
his brother. A brother's children may marry a sister's
children, but the children of two brothers or of two sisters
may not intermarry. Among descendants from the same
stock the male line always has the right of contracting
marriage with the female line ; but the children of the
same line may never intermarry.
The reason given for this custom is that children of the
male line, as also those of the female line, continue from
generation to generation to call themselves brothers and
sisters for as long a time as it is publicly recognized that
they spring from the same stock. A man would be marry-
ing his sister, it would be said, if the children of either the
male or the female line intermarried amongst themselves ;
whereas the children of the male line do not call the children
of the female line brothers and sisters, and vice versa, but
call each other by special names expressive of the relation-
ship. Thus a man can, and even must, marry the daughter
of his sister, but never the daughter of his brother. A
male first cousin marries a female first cousin, the daughter
of his maternal aunt ; but in no case may he marry the
daughter of his paternal uncle.
This rule is universally and invariably observed by all
castes, from the Brahmin to the Pariah. It is obligatory
on the male line to unite itself with the female line. Agree-
ably to this a custom has arisen which so far as I know
is peculiar to the Brahmins. They are all supposed to
know the gotram or stock from which they spring : that is
1 This custom is gradually giving way now amongst the higher castes.
—Ed.
22 VAISYAS AND SUDRAS
to say, they know who was the ancient Muni or devotee
from whom they descend, and they always take care, in
order to avoid intermarriage with a female descendant of
this remote priestly ancestor, to marry into a gotram other
than their own.
Hindus who cannot contract a suitable marriage amongst
their own relations are nevertheless bound to marry in
their own caste, and even in that subdivision of it to which
they belong. In no case are they permitted to contract
marriages with strangers. Furthermore, persons belonging
to a caste in one part of the country cannot contract
marriages with persons of the same caste in another part,
even though they may be precisely the same castes under
different names. Thus the Tamil Yedeyers and the Canarese
Uppareru would never consent to take wives from the
Telugu Gollavaru and the Tamil Pillay, although the first
two are, except for their names, identical with the second
two.
The most distinguished of the four main castes into
which the Hindus were originally separated by their first
legislators is, as we have before remarked, that of the
Brahmins. After them come the Kshatriyas, or Rajahs.
Superiority of rank is at present warmly contested between
the Vaisyas, or merchants, and the Sudras, or cultivators.
The former appear to have almost entirely lost their
superiority except in the Hindu books, where they are
invariably placed before the Sudras. In ordinary life the
latter hold themselves to be superior to the Vaisyas, and
consider themselves privileged to mark their superiority in
many respects by treating them with contumely.
With regard to the Vaisya caste an almost incredible
but nevertheless well-attested peculiarity is everywhere
observable. There is not a pretty woman to be found in
the caste. I have never had much to do with the women
of the Vaisya caste ; I cannot therefore without injustice
venture to add my testimony to that of others on this
subject ; but I confess that the few Vaisya women I have
seen from time to time were not such as to afford me
an ocular refutation of the popular prejudice. However,
Vaisya women are generally wealthy, and they manage
to make up for their lack of beauty by their elegant attire.
SUB-DIVISIONS OF CASTES 23
Even the Brahmins do not hold the highest social rank
undisputed. The Panchalas, or five classes of artisans
already mentioned, refuse, in some districts, to acknow-
ledge Brahmin predominance, although these five classes
themselves are considered to be of very low rank amongst
the Sudras and are everywhere held in contempt. Brahmin
predominance is also still more warmly contested by the
Jains, of whom I have treated in one of the Appendices to
this work.
As to the particular subdivisions of each caste it is
difficult to decide the order of hierarchy observed amongst
them. Sub-castes which are despised in one district are
often greatly esteemed in another, according as they con-
duct themselves with greater propriety or follow more
important callings. Thus the caste to which the ruler of
a country belongs, however low it may be considered
elsewhere, ranks amongst the highest in the ruler's own
dominions, and every member of it derives some reflection
of dignity from its chief.
After all, public opinion is the surest guide of caste
superiority amongst the Sudras, and a very slight acquain-
tance with the customs of a province and with the private
life of its inhabitants will suffice for fixing the position
which each caste has acquired by common consent.
In general it will be found that those castes are most
honoured who are particular in keeping themselves pure
by constant bathing and by abstaining from animal
food, who are exact in the observance of marriage regula-
tions, who keep their women shut up and punish them
severely when they err, and who resolutely maintain the
customs and privileges of their order.
Of all the Hindus the Brahmins strive most to keep up
appearances of outward and inward purity by frequent
ablutions and severe abstinence not only from meat and
everything that has contained the principle of life, but
also from several natural products of the earth which
prejudice and superstition teach them to be impure and
defiling. It is chiefly to the scrupulous observance of
such customs that the Brahmins owe the predominance of
their illustrious order, and the reverence and respect with
which they are everywhere treated.
24 RICJHT-HAXD AND LEFT-HAND FACTIONS
Amongst the different classes of Sudras, those who
permit widow remarriage are considered the most abject,
and. except the Pariahs, I know very few castes in which
such marriages are allowed to take place openly and with
the sanction of the caste l .
The division into castes is the paramount distinction
amongst the Hindus ; but there is still another division,
that of sects. The two best known are those of Siva and
Vishnu, which are again divided into a large number of
others.
There are several castes, too, which may be distinguished
by certain marks painted on the forehead or other parts of
the body.
The first three of the four main castes, that is to say
the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaisyas, are distinguished
by a thin cord hung across from the left shoulder to the
right hip. But this cord is also worn by the Jains and even
by the Panchalas, or five castes of artisans, so one is apt to
be deceived by it.
From what has been said it will appear that the name
of a caste forms after all its best indication. It was thus
that the tribes of Israel were distinguished. The names of
several of the Hindu castes have a known meaning ; but
for the most part they date from such ancient times that it
is impossible to find out their significance.
There is yet another division more general than any
I have referred to yet, namely, that into Right-hand and
Left-hand factions. This appears to be but a modern
invention, since it is not mentioned in any of the ancient
books of the country ; and I have been assured that it is
unknown in Northern India. Be that as it may, I do not
believe that any idea of this baneful institution, as it exists
at the present day, ever entered the heads of those wise
lawgivers who considered they had found in caste distinc-
tions the best guarantee for the observance of the laws
which they prescribed for the people.
This division into Right-hand and Left-hand factions,
whoever invented it, has turned out to be the most direful
1 Remarriage of virgin widows is one of the foremost planks in the
platform of Social Reform, but it is opposed violently by the ortho-
dox. — En.
OPPOSITION BETWEEN FACTIONS 25
disturber of the public peace. It has proved a perpetual
source of riots, and the cause of endless animosity amongst
the natives.
Most castes belong either to the Left-hand or Right-hand
faction. The former comprises the Vaisyas or trading
classes, the Panchalas or artisan classes, and some of the
low Sudra castes. It also contains the lowest caste, namely,
the Chucklers or leather- workers, who are looked upon as
its chief support.
To the Right-hand faction belong most of the higher
castes of Sudras. The Pariahs are its chief support, as
a proof of which they glory in the title Valangai-Mougattar,
or friends of the Right-hand. In the disputes and con-
flicts which so often take place between the two factions it
is always the Pariahs who make the most disturbance and
do the most damage.
The Brahmins, Rajahs, and several classes of Sudras are
content to remain neutral, and take no part in these
quarrels. They are often chosen as arbiters in the differ-
ences which the two factions have to settle between them-
selves.
The opposition between the two factions arises from
certain exclusive privileges to which both lay claim. But
as these alleged privileges are nowhere clearly defined and
recognized, they result in confusion and uncertainty, and
are with difficulty capable of settlement. In these circum-
stances one cannot hope to conciliate both parties ; all
that one can do is to endeavour to compromise matters as
far as possible.
When one faction trespasses on the so-called rights of
the other, tumults arise which spread gradually over large
tracts of territory, afford opportunity for excesses of all
kinds, and generally end in bloody conflicts. The Hindu,
ordinarily so timid and gentle in all other circumstances of
life, seems to change his nature completely on occasions
like these. There is no danger that he will not brave in
maintaining what he calls his rights, and rather than
sacrifice a tittle of them he will expose himself without fear
to the risk of losing his life.
I have several times witnessed instances of these popular
insurrections excited by the mutual pretensions of the two
26 RIOTOUS DISTURBANCES
factions and pushed to such an extreme of fury that the
presence of a military force has been insufficient to quell
them, to allay the clamour, or to control the excesses in
which the contending factions consider themselves entitled
to indulge.
Occasionally, when the magistrates fail to effect a re-
conciliation by peaceful means, it is necessary to resort to
force in order to suppress the disturbances. I have some-
times seen these rioters stand up against several discharges
of artillery without exhibiting any sign of submission.
And when at last the armed force has succeeded in restoring
order it is only for a time. At the very first opportunity
the rioters are at work again, regardless of the punishment
they have received, and quite ready to renew the conflict
as obstinately as before. Such are the excesses to which
the mild and peaceful Hindu abandons himself when his
courage is aroused by religious and political fanaticism.
The rights and privileges for which the Hindus are ready
to fight such sanguinary battles appear highly ridiculous,
especially to a European. Perhaps the sole cause of the
contest is the right to wear slippers or to ride through
the streets in a palanquin or on horseback during marriage
festivals. Sometimes it is the privilege of being escorted
on certain occasions by armed retainers, sometimes that
of having a trumpet sounded in front of a procession, or
of being accompanied by native musicians at public cere-
monies. Perhaps it is simply the particular kind of musical
instrument suitable to such occasions that is in dispute ;
or perhaps it may be the right of carrying flags of certain
colours or certain devices during these ceremonies. Such
at any rate are a few of the privileges for which Hindus
are ready to cut each other's throats.
It not unfrequently happens that one faction makes an
attack on the rights, real or pretended, of the other. There-
upon the trouble begins, and soon becomes general if it
is not appeased at the very outset by prudent and vigorous
measures on the part of the magistracy.
I could instance very many examples bearing on this
fatal distinction between Right-hand and Left-hand ; but
what I have already said is enough to show the spirit which
animates the Hindus in this matter. I once witnessed
PETTY CAUSES OF DISPUTE 27
a dispute of this nature between the Pariahs and Chuckhrs,
or leather-workers. There seemed reason to fear such
disastrous consequences throughout the whole district in
question, that many of the more peaceful inhabitants began
to desert their villages and to carry away their goods and
chattels to a place of safety, just as is done when the country
is threatened by the near approach of a Mahratta army.
However, matters did not reach this extremity. The
principal inhabitants of the district opportunely offered to
arbitrate in the matter, and they succeeded by diplomacy
and conciliation in smoothing away the difficulties and in
appeasing the two factions, who were only awaiting the
signal to attack each other.
One would not easily guess the cause of this formidable
commotion. It simply arose from the fact that a Chuckler
had dared to appear at a public ceremony with red flowers
stuck in his turban, a privilege which the Pariahs alleged
to belong exclusively to the Right-hand faction 1 !
CHAPTER II
Advantages resulting from Caste Divisions. — Similar Divisions amongst
many Ancient Nations.
Many persons studyso imperfectly the spirit and character
of the different nations that inhabit the earth, and the in-
fluence of climate on their manners, customs, predilections,
and usages, that they are astonished to find how widely
such nations differ from each other. Trammelled by the
prejudices of their own surroundings, such persons think
nothing well regulated that is not included in the polity
and government of their own country. They would like
to see all nations of the earth placed on precisely the same
footing as themselves. Everything which differs from their
own customs they consider either uncivilized or ridiculous.
1 These faction fights have gradually disappeared under the civilizing
influences of education and good government ; and if they ever occur
at all, are confined to the lowest castes and never spread beyond the
limits of a village. The distinctions between the two factions, however,
still exist. — Ed.
28 PREJUDICES AGAINST CASTE
Now, although man's nature is pretty much the same all
the world over, it is subject to so many differentiations
caused by soil, climate, food, religion, education, and other
circumstances peculiar to different countries, that the
system of civilization adopted by one people would plunge
another into a state of barbarism and cause its complete
downfall.
I have heard some persons, sensible enough in other
respects, but imbued with all the prejudices that they have
brought with them from Europe, pronounce what appears
to me an altogether erroneous judgement in the matter of
caste divisions amongst the Hindus. In their opinion,
caste is not only useless to the body politic, it is also ridi-
culous, and even calculated to bring trouble and disorder
on the people. For my part, having lived many years on
friendly terms with the Hindus, I have been able to study
their national life and character closely, and I have arrived
at a quite opposite decision on this subject of caste. I
believe caste division to be in many respects the chef-
d'oeuvre, the happiest effort, of Hindu legislation. I am
persuaded that it is simply and solely due to the distribu-
tion of the people into castes that India did not lapse into
a state of barbarism, and that she preserved and perfected
the arts and sciences of civilization whilst most other
nations of the earth remained in a state of barbarism.
I do not consider caste to be free from many great draw-
backs ; but I believe that the resulting advantages, in the
case of a nation constituted like the Hindus, more than
outweigh the resulting evils.
To establish the justice of this contention we have only
to glance at the condition of the various races of men who
live in the same latitude as the Hindus, and to consider
the past and present status of those among them whose
natural disposition and character have not been influenced
for good by the purifying doctrines of Revealed Religion.
We can judge what the Hindus would have been like, had
they not been held within the pale of social duty by caste
regulations, if we glance at neighbouring nations west of
the Peninsula and east of it beyond the Ganges as far as
China. In China itself a temperate climate and a form
of government peculiarly adapted to a people unlike any
ADVANTAGES OF CASTE 29
other in the world have produced the same effect as the
distinction of caste among the Hindus.
After much careful thought I can discover no other
reason except caste which accounts for the Hindus not
having fallen into the same state of barbarism as their
neighbours and as almost all nations inhabiting the torrid
zone. Caste assigns to each individual his own profession
or calling ; and the handing down of this system from
father to son, from generation to generation, makes it
impossible for any person or his descendants to change
the condition of life which the law assigns to him for any
other. Such an institution was probably the only means
that the most clear-sighted prudence could devise for main-
taining a state of civilization amongst a people endowed
with the peculiar characteristics of the Hindus.
We can picture what would become of the Hindus if
they were not kept within the bounds of duty by the rules
and penalties of caste, by looking at the position of the
Pariahs, or outcastes of India, who, checked by no moral
restraint, abandon themselves to their natural propensities.
Anybody who has studied the conduct and character of
the people of this class — which, by the way. is the largest
of any in India 2 — will agree with me that a State consist-
ing entirely of such inhabitants could not long endure,
and could not fail to lapse before long into a condition of
barbarism. For my own part, being perfectly familiar with
this class, and acquainted with its natural predilections
and sentiments, I am persuaded that a nation of Pariahs
left to themselves would speedily become worse than the
hordes of cannibals who wander in the vast wastes of
Africa, and would soon take to devouring each other.
I am no less convinced that if the Hindus were not kept
within the limits of duty and obedience by the system of
caste, and by the penal regulations attached to each phase
of it, they would soon become just what the Pariahs are,
and probably something still worse. The whole country
1 This is true only of Southern India, where the Pariahs number
5,000,000. They form one-seventh of the total population of the Madras
Presidency. Of late years the degraded condition of these outcastes
has attracted much attention, ami a great deal is now being done to
elevate them morally and materially. — Ed.
30 THE FOUNDATIONS OF CASTE
would necessarily fall into a stale of hopeless anarchy,
and, before the present generation disappeared, this nation,
so polished under present conditions, would have to be
reckoned amongst the most uncivilized of the world.
The legislators of India, whoever they may have been,
were far too wise and too well acquainted with the natural
character of the people for whom they prescribed laws to
leave it to the discretion or fancy of each individual to
cultivate what knowledge he pleased, or to exercise, as
seemed best to him, any of the various professions, arts,
or industries which are necessary for the preservation and
well-being of a State.
They set out from that cardinal principle common to all
ancient legislators, that no person should be useless to the
commonwealth. At the same time they recognized that
they were dealing with a people who were indolent and
careless by nature, and whose propensity to be apathetic
was so aggravated by the climate in which they lived, that
unless every individual had a profession or employment
rigidly imposed upon him, the social fabric could not hold
together and must quickly fall into the most deplorable
state of anarchy. These ancient lawgivers, therefore, being
well aware of the danger caused by religious and political
innovations, and being anxious to establish durable and
inviolable rules for the different castes comprising the
Hindu nation, saw no surer way of attaining their object
than by combining in an unmistakable manner those two
great foundations of orderly government, religion and
politics. Accordingly there is not one of their ancient
usages, not one of their observances, which has not some
religious principle or object attached to it. Everything,
indeed, is governed by superstition and has religion for its
motive. The style of greeting, the mode of dressing, the
cut of clothes, the shape of ornaments and their manner of
adjustment, the various details of the toilette, the archi-
tecture of houses, the corners where the hearth is placed
and where the cooking pots must stand, the manner of
going to bed and of sleeping, the forms of civility and
politeness that must be observed : all these are severely
regulated.
During the many years that I studied Hindu customs
CASTE IN PALESTINE AND EGYPT 31
1 cannot say that I ever observed a single one, however
unimportant and simple, and, I may add, however filthy
and disgusting, which did not rest on some religious prin-
ciple or other. Nothing is left to chance ; everything is
laid down by rule, and the foundation of all their customs
is purely and simply religion. It is for this reason that the
Hindus hold all their customs and usages to be inviolable,
for, being essentially religious, they consider them as sacred
as religion itself.
And, be it noted, this plan of dividing the people into
castes is not confined to the lawgivers of India. The
wisest and most famous of all lawgivers, Moses, availed
himself of the same institution, as being the one which
offered him the best means of governing the intractable
and rebellious people of whom he had been appointed the
patriarch.
The division of the people into castes existed also amongst
the Egyptians. With them, as with the Hindus, the law
assigned an occupation to each individual, which was
handed down from father to son. It was forbidden to
any man to have two professions, or to change his own.
Each caste had a special quarter assigned to it, and people
of a different caste were prohibited from settling there.
Nevertheless there was this difference between the Egyptians
and the Hindus : with the former all castes and all pro-
fessions were held in esteem ; all employments, even of
the meanest kind, were alike regarded as honourable ;
and, although the priestly and military castes possessed
peculiar privileges, nobody would have considered it
anything but criminal to despise the classes whose work,
whatever it happened to be, contributed to the general
good 1 . With the Hindus, on the other hand, there are
professions and callings to which prejudice attaches such
degradation that those who follow them are universally
despised by those castes which in the public estimation
exercise higher functions.
It must here be remarked, however, that the four great
professions without which a civilized nation could not
exist, namely, the army, agriculture, commerce, and weav-
1 See what the illustrious Bossuet says on this point in his DivcuiM*
sur VHistoire UniverseUe, Part III. — Dubois.
32 CASTE AMONGST ANCIENT NATIONS
ing, are held everywhere in the highest esteem. All castes,
from the Brahmin to the Pariah, are permitted to follow
the first three, and the fourth can be followed by all the
principal classes of Sudras 1 .
These same caste distinctions observable amongst Hindus
exist likewise, with some differences, amongst the Arabs
and Tartars. Probably, indeed, they were common to the
majority of ancient nations. Cecrops, it will be remembered,
separated the people of Athens into four tribes or classes,
while their great lawgiver, Solon, upheld this distinction
and strengthened it in several ways. Numa Pompilius,
again, could devise no better way of putting an end to the
racial hatred between Sabines and Romans than by separat-
ing the body of the people into different castes and classes.
The result of his policy was just what he had desired. Both
Sabines and Romans, once amalgamated in this manner,
forgot their national differences and thought only of those
of their class or caste.
Those who instituted the caste system could not but
perceive that with nations in an embryonic stage the more
class distinctions there are the more order and symmetry
there must be, and the more easy it is to exercise control
and preserve order. This, indeed, is the result which caste
classification amongst the Hindus has achieved. The shame
which would reflect on a whole caste if the faults of one of
its individual members went unpunished guarantees that
the caste will execute justice, defend its own honour, and
keep all its members within the bounds of duty. For, be
it noted, every caste has its own laws and regulations, or
rather, we may say, its own customs, in accordance with
which the severest justice is meted out, just as it was by
the patriarchs of old.
Thus in several castes adultery is punishable by death 2 .
Girls or widows who succumb to temptation are made to
suffer the same penalty as those who have seduced them.
The largest temple of the town of Conjeeveram, in the
Carnatic, an immense building, was constructed, so it is
1 This statement is not quite correct, for in Southern India, at any
rate, some classes of Pariahs are most expert weavers, and are honoured
as such throughout the country. — Ed.
2 This of course is no longer allowed by law. — Ed.
CASTE PENALTIES 33
said, by a rich Brahmin who had been convicted of having
had illicit intercourse with a low-caste Pariah woman.
He was, however, sentenced to this severe penalty, not so
much on account of the immorality of his action, seeing
that in the opinion of the Brahmins it was not immoral
at all, but on account of the low-caste person who had
been the partner of his incontinence. There are various
kinds of delinquencies in connexion with which a caste
may take proceedings, not only against the principal
offenders, but against those who have taken any part
whatever in them. Thus it is caste authority which, by
means of its wise rules and prerogatives, preserves good
order, suppresses vice, and saves Hindus from sinking into
a state of barbarism.
It may also be said that caste regulations counteract to
a great extent the evil effects which would otherwise be
produced on the national character by a religion that
encourages the most unlicensed depravity of morals, as
well in the decorations of its temples as in its dogmas
and ritual.
In India, where the princes and the aristocracy live in
extreme indolence, attaching little importance to making
their dependants happy and taking small pains to inculcate
in them a sense of right and wrong, there are no other
means of attaining these desirable ends and preserving
good order than by authoritative rulings of the caste
system. The worst of it is, these powers are not suffi-
ciently wide, or rather they are too often relaxed. Many
castes exercise them with severity in cases that are for the
most part frivolous, but display an easy and culpable
indulgence towards real and serious delinquencies. On the
other hand, caste authority is often a check against abuses
which the despotic rulers of the country are too apt to
indulge in. Sometimes one may see, as the result of
a caste order, the tradesmen and merchants of a whole
district closing their shops, the labourers abandoning their
fields, or the artisans leaving their workshops, all because
of some petty insult or of some petty extortion suffered by
some member of their caste ; and the aggrieved people will
remain obstinately in this state of opposition until the injury
has been atoned for and those responsible for it punished.
34 PURITY OF HINDI' DESCENT
Another advantage resulting from the caste system is
the hereditary continuation of families and that purity of
descent which is a peculiarity of the Hindus, and which
consists in never mixing the blood of one family or caste
with that of another. Marriages are confined to parties
belonging to the same family, or at any rate the same
caste. In India, at any rate, there can be no room for the
reproach, so often deserved in European countries, that
families have deteriorated by alliances with persons of low
or unknown extraction. A Hindu of high caste can,
without citing his title or producing his genealogical tree,
trace his descent back for more than two thousand years
without fear of contradiction. He can also, without any
other passport than that of his high caste, and in spite of
his poverty, present himself anywhere ; and he would be
more courted for a marriage alliance than any richer man
of less pure descent. Nevertheless, it is not to be denied
that there are some districts where the people are not
quite so particular about their marriages, though such
laxity is blamed and held up to shame as an outrage on
propriety, while those guilty of it take very good care to
conceal it as much as possible from the public.
Further, one would be justified in asserting that it is to
caste distinctions that India owes the preservation of her
arts and industries. For the same reason she would have
reached a high standard of perfection in them had not the
avarice of her rulers prevented it. It was chiefly to attain
this object that the Egyptians were divided into castes,
and that their laws assigned the particular place which
each individual should occupy in the commonwealth.
Their lawgivers no doubt considered that by this means
all arts and industries would continue to improve from
generation to generation, for men must needs do well
that which they have always been in the habit of seeing
done and which they have been constantly practising from
their youth.
This perfection in arts and manufactures would un-
doubtedly have been attained by so industrious a people as
the Hindus, if, as I have before remarked, the cupidity of
their rulers had not acted as a check. As a matter of fact,
no sooner has an artisan gained the reputation of excelling
HINDU ARTS AND MANUFACTURES 35
m his craft than he is at once carried off by order of the
sovereign, taken to the palace, and there confined for the
rest of his life, forced to toil without remission and with
little or no reward. Under these circumstances, which are
common to all parts of India under the government of
native princes, it is hardly surprising that every art and
industry is extinguished and all healthy competition
deadened. This is the chief and almost the only reason
why progress in the arts has been so slow among the
Hindus, and why in this respect they are now far behind
other nations who did not become civilized for many cen-
turies after themselves.
Their workmen certainly lack neither industry nor skill.
In the European settlements, where they are paid according
to their merit, many native artisans are to be met with
whose work would do credit to the best artisans of the
West. Moreover they feel no necessity to use the many
European tools, whose nomenclature alone requires special
study. One or two axes, as many saws and planes, all of
them so rudely fashioned that a European workman would
be able to do nothing with them — these are almost the
only instruments that are to be seen in the hands of Hindu
carpenters. The working materials of a journeyman gold-
smith usually comprise a tiny anvil, a crucible, two or
three small hammers, and as many files. With such
simple tools the patient Hindu, thanks to his industry,
can produce specimens of work which are often not to be
distinguished from those imported at great expense from
foreign countries. To what a standard of excellence would
these men have attained if they had been from the earliest
times subjected to good masters !
In order to form a just idea of what the Hindus would
have done with their arts and manufactures if their natural
industry had been properly encouraged, we have only to
visit the workshop of one of their weavers or of one of
their printers on cloth and carefully examine the instru-
ments with which they produce those superb muslins,
those superfine cloths, those beautiful coloured piece-goods,
which are everywhere admired, and which in Europe occupy
a high place among the principal articles of adornment.
In manufacturing these magnificent stuffs the artisan uses
36 COHESION OF CASTE COMMUNITIES
his feet almost as much as his hands. Furthermore the
weaving loom, and the whole apparatus for spinning the
thread before it is woven, as well as the rest of the tools
which he uses for the work, are so simple and so few that
altogether they would hardly comprise a load for one man.
Indeed it is by no means a rare sight to see one of these
weavers changing his abode, and carrying on his back all
that is necessary for setting to work the moment he arrives
at his new home.
Their printed calicoes, which are not less admired than
their muslins, are manufactured in an equally simple
manner. Three or four bamboos to stretch the cloth,
as many brushes for applying the colours, with a few
pieces of potsherd to contain them, and a hollow stone
for pounding them : these are pretty well all their stock
in trade.
I will venture to express one other remark on the political
advantages resulting from caste distinctions. In India
parental authority is but little respected : and parents,
overcome doubtless by that apathetic indifference which
characterizes Hindus generally, are at little pains, as I shall
show later on, to inspire those feelings of filial reverence
which constitute family happiness by enchaining the affec-
tions of the children to the authors of their existence.
Outward affection appears to exist between brothers and
sisters, but in reality it is neither very strong nor very
sincere. It quickly vanishes after the death of their
parents, and subsequently, we may say, they only come
together to fight and to quarrel. Thus, as the ties of
blood relationship formed so insecure a bond between
different members of a community, and guaranteed no
such mutual assistance and support as were needed, it
became necessary to bring families together in large caste
communities, the individual members of which had a
common interest in protecting, supporting, and defending
each other. It was thus that the links of the Hindu social
chain were so strongly and ingeniously forged that nothing
was able to break them.
This was the object which the ancient lawgivers of India
attained by establishing the caste system, and they thereby
acquired a title to honour unexampled in the history of
CASTE SENTENCES :*7
the world. Their work lias stood the test of thousands
of years, and lias survived the lapse of time and the many
revolutions to which this portion of the globe has been
subjected. The Hindus have often passed beneath the
yoke of foreign invaders, whose religions, laws, and customs
have been very different from their own ; yet all efforts to
impose foreign institutions on the people of India have
been futile, and foreign occupation has never dealt more
than a feeble blow against Indian custom. Above all, and
before all, it was the caste system which protected them.
Its authority was extensive enough to include sentences of
death, as I have before remarked. The story is told, and
the truth of it is incontestable, that a man of the Rajput
caste was a few years ago compelled by the people of his
own caste and by the principal inhabitants of his place of
abode to execute, with his own hand, a sentence of death
passed on his daughter. This unhappy girl had been dis-
covered in the arms of a youth, who would have suffered
the same penalty had he not evaded it by sudden flight.
Nevertheless, although the penalty of death may be
inflicted by some castes under certain circumstances, this
form of punishment is seldom resorted to nowadays. When-
ever it is thought to be indispensable, it is the father or
the brother who is expected to execute it, in secrecy.
Generally speaking, however, recourse is had by prefer-
ence to the imposition of a fine and to various ignominious
corporal punishments. As regards these latter, we may
note as examples the punishments inflicted on women w T ho
have forfeited their honour, such as shaving their heads,
compelling them to ride through the public streets mounted
on asses and with their faces turned towards the tail,
forcing them to stand a long time with a basket of mud
on their heads before the assembled caste people, throwing
into their faces the ordure of cattle, breaking the cotton
thread of those possessing the right to wear it, and ex-
communicating the guilty from their caste \
1 The infliction of such punishments might nowadays be followed by
prosecution in the Civil and Criminal Courts. — Ed.
38
CHAPTER III
Expulsion from Caste. — Cases in which such Degradation is inflicted. —
By whom inflicted. — Restoration to Caste. — Methods of effecting it.
Of all kinds of punishment the hardest and most un-
bearable for a Hindu is that which cuts him off and expels
him from his caste. Those whose duty it is to inflict it
are the gurus, of whom I shall have more to say in a sub-
sequent chapter, and, in default of them, the caste headmen.
These latter are usually to be found in every district, and
it is to them that all doubtful or difficult questions affecting
the caste system are referred. They call in, in order to
help them to decide such questions, a few elders who are
versed in the intricacies of the matters in dispute.
This expulsion from caste, which follows either an in-
fringement of caste usages or some public offence calculated
if left unpunished to bring dishonour on the whole com-
munity, is a kind of social excommunication, which deprives
the unhappy person who suffers it of all intercourse with
his fellow-creatures. It renders him, as it were, dead to
the world, and leaves him nothing in common with the
rest of society. In losing his caste he loses not only his
relations and friends, but often his wife and his children,
who would rather leave him to his fate than share his
disgrace with him. Nobody dare eat with him or even
give him a drop of water. If he has marriageable daughters
nobody asks them in marriage, and in like manner his sons
are refused wives. He has to take it for granted that
wherever he goes he will be avoided, pointed at with scorn,
and regarded as an outcaste.
If after losing caste a Hindu could obtain admission into
an inferior caste, his punishment would in some degree be
tolerable ; but even this humiliating compensation is denied
to him. A simple Sudra with any notions of honour and
propriety would never associate or even speak with a
Brahmin degraded in this manner. It is necessary, there-
fore, for an outcaste to seek asylum in the lowest caste of
Pariahs if he fail to obtain restoration to his own ; or else
he is obliged to associate with persons of doubtful caste.
There are always people of this kind, especially in the
EXPULSION FROM CASTE 39
quarters inhabited by Europeans; and unhappy is the
man who puts trust in them ! A caste Hindu is often
a thief and a bad character, but a Hindu without caste is
almost always a rogue.
Expulsion from caste is generally put in force without
much formality. Sometimes it is due merely to personal
hatred or caprice. Thus, when persons refuse, without
any apparent justification, to attend the funeral or marriage
ceremonies of their relations or friends, or when they happen
not to invite the latter on similar occasions, the individuals
thus slighted never fail to take proceedings in order to
obtain satisfaction for the insult offered to them, and the
arbitrators called in to decide the case usually pass a decree
of excommunication. When a case is thus settled by
arbitration, however, a sentence of excommunication does
not bring upon the guilty person the same disgrace and the
same penalties which are the lot of those whose offence
offers no room for compromise.
Otherwise it matters little whether the offence be deli-
berate, whether it be serious or trivial, in determining
that a person shall pay this degrading penalty. A Pariah
who concealed his origin, mixed with other Hindus, entered
their houses and ate with them without being recognized,
would render those who had thus been brought into con-
tact with him liable to ignominious expulsion from their
caste. At the same time a Pariah guilty of such a daring
act would inevitably be murdered on the spot, if his enter-
tainers recognized him.
A Sudra, too, who indulged in illicit intercourse witli
a Pariah woman would be rigorously expelled from caste
if his offence became known.
A number of Brahmins assembled together for some
family ceremony once admitted to their feast, without
being aware of it, a Sudra who had gained admittance on
the false assertion that he belonged to their caste. On the
circumstance being discovered, these Brahmins were one
and all outcasted, and were unable to obtain reinstatement
until they had gone through all kinds of formalities and
been subjected to considerable expense.
I once witnessed amongst the Gollavarus, or shepherds,
an instance of even greater severity. A marriage had been
W INSTANCES OF CASTE VIOLATION
arranged, and, in the presence of the family concerned,
certain ceremonies which were equivalent to betrothal
amongst ourselves had taken place. Before the actual
celebration of the marriage, which was fixed for a con-
siderable time afterwards, the bridegroom died. The
parents of the girl, who was very young and pretty, there-
upon married her to another man. This was in direct
violation of the custom of the caste, which condemns to
perpetual widowhood girls thus betrothed, even when, as
in this case, the future bridegroom dies before marriage
has been consummated. The consequence was that all
the persons who had taken part in the second ceremony
were expelled from caste, and nobody would contract
marriage or have any intercourse whatever with them.
A long time afterwards I met several of them, well advanced
in age, who had been for this reason alone unable to obtain
husbands or wives, as the case might be.
Let me relate another instance. Eleven Brahmins
travelling in company were obliged to cross a district
devastated by war. They arrived hungry and tired in
a village, which, contrary to their expectations, they found
deserted. They had with them a small quantity of rice,
but they could find no other pots to boil it in than some
which had been left in the house of the village washerman.
To touch these would constitute in the case of Brahmins
an almost ineffaceable defilement. Nevertheless, suffering
from hunger as they were, they swore mutual secrecy, and
after washing and scouring the pots a hundred times they
prepared their food in them. The rice was served and the
repast consumed by all but one, who refused to partake
of it, and who had no sooner returned home than he pro-
ceeded to denounce the ten others to the chief Brahmins
of the village. The news of such a scandal spread quickly,
and gave rise to a great commotion amongst all classes of
the inhabitants. An assembly was held. The delinquents
were summoned and forced to appear. Warned before-
hand, however, of the proceedings that were to be in-
stituted against them, they took counsel together and
agreed to answer unanimously, when called upon to explain,
that it was the accuser himself who had committed the
heinous sin and who had imputed it to them falsely and
ATTACHMENT TO CASTE 1 1
maliciously. The testimony of ten persons was calculated
to carry more weight than that of one. The accused were
consequently acquitted, while the accuser alone was igno-
niiniously expelled from caste by the headmen, who,
though they were perfectly sure of his innocence, were
indignant at his treacherous disclosure.
From what has been said, it will no longer be surprising
to learn that Hindus are as much, nay, even more, attached
to their caste than the gentry of Europe are to their rank.
Prone to using the most disgustingly abusive language in
their quarrels, they nevertheless easily forgive and forget
such insulting epithets ; but if one should say of another
that he is a man without caste, the insult would never be
forgiven or forgotten.
This strict and universal observance of caste and caste
usages forms practically their whole social law. A very
great number of people are to be found amongst them, to
whom death would appear far more desirable than life, if,
for example, the latter were sustained by eating cow's flesh
or any food prepared by Pariahs and outcastes.
It is this same caste feeling which gives rise to the con-
tempt and aversion which they display towards all foreign
nations, and especially towards Europeans, who, being as
a rule but slightly acquainted with the customs and pre-
judices of the country, are constantly violating them.
Owing to such conduct the Hindus look upon them as
barbarians totally ignorant of all principles of honour and
good breeding.
In several cases, at least, restoration to caste is an
impossibility. But when the sentence of excommunication
has been passed merely by relations, the culprit conciliates
the principal members of his family and prostrates himself
in a humble posture, and with signs of repentance, before
his assembled castemen. He then listens without com-
plaint to the rebukes which are showered upon him, receives
the blows to which he is oftentimes condemned, and pays
the fine which it is thought fit to impose upon him. Finally,
after having solemnly promised to wipe out by good con-
duct the taint resulting from his degrading punishment,
he sheds tears of repentance, performs the sasktanga before
the assembly, and then serves a feast to the persons present.
C 3
42 THE 'SASHTANGA'
When all this is finished lie is looked upon as reinstated.
The sashta?iga, by the way, is a sign or salute expressing
humility, which is not only recognized amongst the Hindus
and other Asiatic nations, but was in use amongst more
ancient peoples. Instances of it are quoted in Scripture,
where this extraordinary mark of respect is known as
adoration, even when it is paid to simple mortals. {Vide
Genesis xviii. 2 ; xix. 1 ; xxxiii. 3 ; xlii. 6 ; xliii. 26 ; 1.
18, &c, &c.) In the same way the Egyptians, Chaldeans,
and other nations mentioned in Holy Writ were acquainted
with this method of reverent salutation and observed it
under the same circumstances as the Hindus. As I shall
often have occasion in this work to mention the sashtanga
1 will give here a definition of it. The person who performs
it lies prostrate, his face on the ground and his arms ex-
tended beyond his head. It is called sashtanga from the
prostration of the six members, because, when it is performed,
the feet, the knees, the stomach, the chest, the forehead,
and the arms must touch the earth. It is thus that pro-
strations are made before persons of high degree, such as
princes and priests. Children sometimes prostrate them-
selves thus before their fathers. It is by no means rare
to see Sudras of different classes performing sashtanga
before Brahmins ; and it often happens that princes, before
engaging an enemy, thus prostrate themselves before their
armies drawn up in battle array \
When expulsion from caste is the result of some heinous
offence, the guilty person who is readmitted into caste has
to submit to one or other of the following ordeals : his
tongue is slightly burnt with a piece of heated gold ; he is
branded indelibly on different parts of his body with red-
hot iron ; he is made to walk barefooted over red-hot
embers ; or he is compelled to crawl several times under
the belly of a cow. Finally, to complete his purification,
he is made to drink the pancha-gavia. These words, of
which a more detailed explanation will be given later on,
signify literally the five things or substances derived from the
1 Here and elsewhere the Abbe makes the mistake of interpreting
saslUanga to mean ' the six angas,' or ' parts of the body.' Sashtanga
(Saashtanga) really means with the eight jxirt* of the body, which are the
two hands, the two feet, two knees, forehead, and breast. — Ed,
UNPARDONABLE SINS OE CASTE t3
body of a cow ; namely, milk, curds, ghee (clarified butter),
dung and urine, which are mixed together. The last-
named, urine, is looked upon as the most efficacious for
purifying any kind of uncleanness. I have often seen
superstitious Hindus following the cows to pasture, waiting
for the moment when they could collect the precious liquid
in vessels of brass, and carrying it away while still warm
to their houses. I have also seen them waiting to catch it
in the hollow of their hands, drinking some of it and rubbing
their faces and heads with the rest. Rubbing it in this
way is supposed to wash away all external uncleanness,
and drinking it to cleanse all internal impurity. When
this disgusting ceremony of the pa?icha-gavia is over, the
person who has been reinstated is expected to give a great
feast to the Brahmins who have collected from all parts to
witness it. Presents of more or less value are also expected
by them, and not until these are forthcoming does the
guilty person obtain all his rights and privileges again.
There are certain offences so heinous in the sight of
Hindus, however, as to leave no hope of reinstatement to
those who commit them. Such, for example, would be
the crime of a Brahmin who had openly cohabited with
a Pariah woman. Were the woman of any other caste,
I believe that it would be possible for a guilty person, by
getting rid of her and by repudiating any children he had
had by her, to obtain pardon, after performing many
purifying ceremonies and expending much money. But
hopeless would be the case of the man who under any
circumstances had eaten of cow's flesh. There would be
no hope of pardon for him, even supposing he had com-
mitted such an awful sacrilege under compulsion.
It would be possible to cite several instances of strange
and inflexible severity in the punishment of caste offences.
When the last Mussulman Prince reigned in Mysore and
sought to proselytize the whole Peninsula, he began by
having several Brahmins forcibly circumcised, compelling
them afterwards to eat cow's flesh as an unequivocal token
of their renunciation of caste. Subsequently the people
were freed from the yoke of this tyrant, and many of those
who had been compelled to embrace the Mahomedan
religion made every possible effort, and offered very large
44 THE 'UNPARDONABLE SIN' OF HINDUISM
sums, 1<> be readmitted to Hinduism. .Assemblies were
held in different parts of the country to thoroughly consider
their cases. It was everywhere decided that it was quite
possible to purify the uncleanness of circumcision and of
intercourse with Mussulmans. But the crime of eating
cow's flesh, even under compulsion, was unanimously
declared to be irredeemable and not to be effaced either
by presents, or by fire, or by the pancha-gavia.
A similar decision was given in the case of Sudras who
found themselves in the same position, and who, after
trying all possible means, were not more successful. One
and all, therefore, were obliged to remain Mahomedans.
A Hindu, of whatever caste, who has once had the
misfortune to be excommunicated, can never altogether
get rid of the stain of his disgrace. If he ever gets into
trouble his excommunication is always thrown in his
teeth.
CHAPTER IV
Antiquity and Origin of Caste.
Apparently there is no existing institution older than
the caste system of the Hindus. Greek and Latin authors
who have written about India concur in thinking that it
has been in force from time immemorial ; and certainly the
unswerving observance of its rules seems to me an almost
incontestable proof of its antiquity \ Under a solemn and
1 Dr. Muir, in Old Sanskrit Texts, vol. i. p. 159, reviewing the texts
which he had cited on this subject, says : — ' First, we have the set of
accounts in which the four castes are said to have sprung from pro-
genitors who were separately created ; but in regard to the manner of
their creation we find the greatest diversity of statement. The most
common story is that the castes issued from the mouth, arms, thighs,
and feet of Purusha, or Brahma. The oldest extant passage in which
this idea occurs, and from which all the later myths of a similar tenor
have no doubt been borrowed, is to be found in the Purusha Sukta ; but
it is doubtful whether, in the form in which it is there represented, this
representation is anything more than an allegory. In some of the texts
from the Bhagavata Purana traces of the same allegorical character
may be perceived ; but in Manu and the Puranas the mystical import
of the Yedic text disappears, and the figurative narration is hardened
into a literal statement of fact. In the chapters of the Vishnu, Vayu,
and Miirkandeya Puranas, where castes arc described as coeval with
CASTE IN THE PURANAS 45
unceasing obligation as the Hindus are to respect its usages,
new and strange customs are things unheard of in their
country. Any person who attempted to introduce such
innovations would excite universal resentment and opposi-
tion, and would be branded as a dangerous person. The
creation, and as having been naturally distinguished by different guruu,
or qualities, involving varieties of moral character, we are nevertheless
allowed to infer that those qualities exerted no influence on the classes
in which they were inherent, as the condition of the whole race during
the Krita age is described as one of uniform perfection and happiness ;
while the actual separation into castes did not take place, according to
the Vayu Purana, until men had become deteriorated in the Treta age.
' Second, in various passages from the Brahmanas epic poems, and
Puranas, the creation of mankind is described without the least allusion
to any separate production of the progenitors of the four castes. And
whilst in the chapters where they relate the distinct formations of the
tastes, the Puranas assign different natural dispositions to each class,
they elsewhere represent all mankind as being at the creation uniformly
distinguished by the quality of passion. In one text men are said to
be the offspring of Vivasat ; in another his son Mami is said to be their
progenitor, whilst in a third they are said to be descended from a female
of the same name. The passage which declares Manu to have been the
father of the human race explicitly affirms that men of all the four castes
were descended from him. In another remarkable text the Mahabharata
categorically asserts that originally there was no distinction of classes,
the existing distribution having arisen out of differences of character
and occupation. In these circumstances, we may fairly conclude that
the separate origination of the four castes was far from being an article
of belief universally received by Indian antiquity.'
The following is the categorical assertion in the Mahabharata (Santi
parvan) above referred to. It occurs in the course of a discussion on
caste between Bhrigu and Bharadwaja. Bhrigu, replying to a question
put by Bharadwaja, says: 'The colour [varna) of the Brahmins was
white ; that of the Kshatriyas red ; that of the Vaisyas yellow, and that
of the Sudras black.' Bharadwaja here rejoins, * If the caste {varna) of
the four classes is distinguished by their colour {varna), then a confusion
of all the castes is observable. . . .' Bhrigu replies, ' There is no differ-
ence of castes : this world, having been at hist created by Brahma
entirely Brahmanic, became (afterwards) separated into tastes in con-
sequence of works. Those Brahmins (lit. twice-born men) who were
fond of sensual pleasure, fiery, irascible, prone to violence, who had
forsaken their duty and were red limbed, fell into the condition of
Kshatriyas. Those Brahmins who derived their livelihood from kine,
who were yellow, who subsisted by agriculture, and who neglected to
practise their duties, entered into the state of Vaisyas. Those Brahmins
who wen- addicted to mischief and falsehood, who were COVetoUS, who
lived by all kinds of work, who were black and had fallen from purity,
sank into the condition of Sudras.' — Ed.
4<> ANTIQUITY OF CASTE CEREMONIES
task, however, would be such a difficult one that I can
hardly believe that any proposal of the kind would ever
enter an intelligent person's head. Everything is always
done in exactly the same way ; even the minutest details
are invested with a solemn importance of their own, because
a Hindu is convinced that it is only by paying rigorous
attention to small details that more momentous concerns
are safeguarded. Indeed, there is not another nation on
earth which can pride itself on having so long preserved
intact its social customs and regulations.
The Hindu legislators of old had the good sense to give
stability to these customs and regulations by associating
with them many outward ceremonies, which, by fixing
them in the minds of the people, ensured their more faithful
observance. These ceremonies are invariably observed, and
have never been allowed to degenerate into mere forms that
can be neglected without grave consequences. Failure to
perform a single one of them, however unimpoitant it
might appear, would never go unpunished.
One cannot fail to remark how very similar some of
these ceremonies are to those which were performed long
ago amongst other nations. Thus the Hindu precepts
about cleanness and uncleanness, as also the means em-
ployed for preserving the one and effacing the other, are
similar in many respects to those of the ancient Hebrews.
The rule about marrying in one's caste, and even in one's
family, was specifically imposed upon the Jews in the laws
which Moses gave them from God \ This rule, too, was
in force a long time before that, for it appears to have been
general amongst the Chaldeans. We find also in Holy
Writ that Abraham espoused his niece, and that the holy
patriarch sent into a far country for a maiden of his own
family as a wife for his son Isaac. Again, Isaac and his
wife Rebecca found it difficult to pardon their son Esau
for marrying amongst strangers, that is, amongst the
Canaanites ; and they sent their son Jacob away into
a distant land to seek a wife from amongst their own
people.
In the same way to-day, Hindus residing in a foreign
1 Numbers xxxvi. 5-12.
TRADITIONAL ORIGIN OF CASTE 47
country will journey hundreds of leagues to their native
land in search of wives for their sons.
Again, as to the caste system, Moses, as is well known,
established it amongst the Hebrews in accordance with
the commands of God. This holy lawgiver had, during
his long sojourn in Egypt, observed the system as estab-
lished in that country, and had doubtless recognized the
good that resulted from it. Apparently, in executing the
divine order with respect to it he simply adapted and per-
fected the system which was in force in Egypt.
The Indian caste system is of still older origin. The
Hindu sacred writings record that the author of it was the
God Brahma, to whom they attribute the creation of the
world, and who is said to have established this system
when he peopled the earth. The Brahmins were the pro-
duct of his brain ; the Kshatriyas or Rajahs issued from
his shoulders ; the Vaisyas from his belly ; and the Sudras
from his feet.
It is easy to understand the allegorical signification of
this legend, in which one can distinctly trace the relative
degrees of subordination of the different castes. The
Brahmins, destined to fulfil the high functions of spiritual
priesthood and to show the way of salvation to their fellow-
men, issue from the head of the Creator ; the Kshatriyas,
endowed with physical force and destined to undergo the
fatigues of war, have their origin in the shoulders and arms
of Brahma ; the Vaisyas, whose duty it is to provide the
food, the clothing, and other bodily necessities of man, are
born in the belly of the god ; and the Sudras, whose lot
is servitude and rude labour in the fields, issue from his feet.
Besides this traditional origin of the different castes,
known to all Hindus, there is another to be found in their
books, which traces the institution back to the time of the
Flood. For, it should be noted, this terrible world-renovat -
ing disaster is as well known to the Hindus as it was to
Moses. On this important subject, however, I shall have
more to say subsequently ; suffice it to remark that a
celebrated personage, reverenced by the Hindus, and
known to them as Mahanuvu, escaped the calamity in an
ark, in which were also the seven famous Penitents of
India. After the Flood, according to Hindu writers, this
4S CASTE SUBDIVISIONS
saviour of the human race divided mankind into different
castes, as they exist at the present day *.
The many subdivisions into which these four great
original castes were broken up date undoubtedly from
later times. They were due to the absolute necessity of
assigning to each person in a special manner his particular
place in the social organization. There are some Hindu
authors who assert that the individuals composing the first
ramifications of the large Sudra caste were the bastard
offspring of the other higher castes, and owed their origin
to illicit intercourse with the widows of the four great
caste divisions. It is said that these bastard children,
born of a Brahmin father and a Kshatriya mother, or of
a Vaisya father and a Sudra mother, &c, were not recog-
nized by any of the four primary castes, and so they were
placed in other caste categories and were assigned special
employments, more or less humble, according to their
extraction.
A few of these many subdivisions are said to be of quite
recent origin. For instance, the five artisan classes are
said to have originally formed only one class, as also the
barbers and washermen, the Gollavarus and Kurubas, and
a large number of others who in recent times have split up
into new sub-castes.
CHAPTER V
The Lower Classes of Sudras. — Pariahs. — Chucklers, or Cobblers, and
others equally low. — Contempt in which they are held. — Pariahs
strictly speaking Slaves. — Washermen, Barbers, and some others. —
Disrepute into which Mechanical Skill has fallen. — Nomads and
Vagabonds. — Gypsies. — Quacks. — Jugglers. — Wild Tribes, &c.
We have already remarked that amongst the immense
number of classes of which the Sudra caste is composed, it
is impossible to give precedence to any one class in par-
ticular ; the natives themselves not being agreed on that
point, and the social scale varying in different parts of the
country. There are certain classes, however, who, owing
to the depth of degradation into which they have fallen,
1 The appellation Mahanuim is well worthy of remark. It is a com-
pound of two words — Maha great, and Nuvu, which undoubtedly is
the same as Noah. — Dubois.
THE PARIAH CAST 10 19
are looked upon as almost another race of beings, altogether
outside the pale of society ; and they are perfectly ready
to acknowledge their own comparative inferiority. The
best known and most numerous of these castes is the
Parayer, as it is called in Tamil, the word from which the
European name Pariah is derived l . The particulars which
I am about to give of this class will form most striking
contrasts with those I shall relate subsequently about the
Brahmins, and will serve to demonstrate a point to which
I shall often refer, namely, how incapable the Hindus are
of showing any moderation in their caste customs and
observances.
Their contempt and aversion for these social outcastes
are as extreme, on the one hand, as are the respect and
veneration which they pay, on the other, to those whom
their superstitions have invested with god-like attributes.
Throughout the whole of India the Pariahs are looked upon
as slaves by other castes, and are treated with great harsh-
ness. Hardly anywhere are they allowed to cultivate the
soil for their own benefit, but are obliged to hire themselves
out to the other castes, who in return for a minimum wage
exact the hardest tasks from them.
Furthermore, their masters may beat them at pleasure ;
the poor wretches having no right either to complain or
to obtain redress for that or any other ill-treatment their
masters may impose on them. In fact, these Pariahs are
the born slaves of India ; and had I to choose between
the two sad fates of being a slave in one of our colonies
or a Pariah here, I should unhesitatingly prefer the former.
This class is the most numerous of all, and in conjunc-
tion with that of the Chucklers, or cobblers, represents at
least a quarter of the population. It is painful to think
that its members, though so degraded, are yet the most
useful of all. On them the whole agricultural work of the
country devolves 2 , and they have also other tasks to per-
forin which are still harder and more indispensable.
1 Parayen means one that beats the drum [parai).— Ed.
2 This is the case only in certain districts of Southern [ndia, such as
Chingleput and Tanjore. An appreciable percentage »>! the Pariah-,
has now migrated to the towns, where they serve as domestic servants
in European and Eurasian households.— Ed.
50 ABJECT CONDITION OF PARIAHS
However, notwithstanding the miserable condition of
these wretched Pariahs, they are never heard to murmur,
or to complain of their low estate. Still less do they ever
dream of trying to improve their lot, by combining together,
and forcing the other classes to treat them with that
common respect which one man owes to another. The
idea that he was born to be in subjection to the other
castes is so ingrained in his mind that it never occurs to
the Pariah to think that his fate is anything but irrevocable.
Nothing will ever persuade him that men are all made of
the same clay, or that he has the right to insist on better
treatment than that which is meted out to him 1 .
They live in hopeless poverty, and the greater number
lack sufficient means to procure even the coarsest clothing.
They go about almost naked, or at best clothed in the
most hideous rags.
They live from hand to mouth the whole year round,
and rarely know one day how they will procure food for
the next. When they happen to have any money, they
invariably spend it at once, and make a point of doing no
work as long as they have anything left to live on.
In a few districts they are allowed to cultivate the soil
on their own account, but in such cases they are almost
always the poorest of their class. Pariahs who hire them-
selves out as labourers earn, at any rate, enough to live
on ; and their food, though often of the coarsest description,
is sufficient to satisfy the cravings of hunger. But those
who are their own masters, and cultivate land for them-
selves, are so indolent and careless that their harvests,
even in the most favourable seasons, are only sufficient to
feed them for half the year.
The contempt and aversion with which the other castes
— and particularly the Brahmins — regard these unfortunate
people are carried to such an excess that in many places
their presence, or even their footprints, are considered
sufficient to defile the whole neighbourhood. They are
forbidden to cross a street in which Brahmins are living.
1 The Christian missionaries in India have done and are doing much
to elevate the condition and character of this class. In Madras city
there are now Pariah associations, and also a journal specially represent-
ing; Pariah interests. — Ed.
DEFILEMENT BY CONTACT WITH PARIAHS 51
Should they be so ill-advised as to do so. the Latter would
have the right, not to strike them themselves, because
they could not do so without defilement, or even touch
them with the end of a long stick, but to order them to be
severely beaten by other people. A Pariah who had the
audacity to enter a Brahmin's house might possibly be
murdered on the spot. A revolting crime of this sort has
been actually perpetrated in States under the rule of native
princes without a voice being raised in expostulation \
Any one who has been touched, whether inadvertently
or purposely, by a Pariah is defiled by that single act,
and may hold no communication with any person what-
soever until he has been purified by bathing, or by other
ceremonies more or less important according to the status
and customs of his caste. It would be contamination to
eat with any members of this class ; to touch food pre-
pared by them, or even to drink water which they have
drawn ; to use an earthen vessel which they have held in
their hands ; to set foot inside one of their houses, or to
allow them to enter houses other than their own. Each
of these acts would contaminate the person affected by it,
and before being readmitted to his own caste such a person
would have to go through many exacting and expensive
formalities. Should it be proved that any one had had
any connexion with a Pariah woman he would be treated
with even greater severity. Nevertheless, the disgust which
these Pariahs inspire is not so intense in some parts of the
country as in others. The feeling is most strongly developed
in the southern and western districts of the Peninsula ; in
the north it is less apparent. In the northern part of
Mysore the other classes of Sudras allow Pariahs to ap-
proach them, and even permit them to enter that part of
the house which is used for cattle. Indeed, in some places
custom is so far relaxed that a Pariah may venture to put
his head and one foot, but one foot only, inside the room
1 Even to this day a Pariah is not allowed to pass a Brahmin Btreel
in a village, though nobody can prevent, or prevents, his approaching
or passing by a Brahmin's house in towns. The Pariahs, on their part,
will under no circumstances allow a Brahmin to pass through their
jxircherries (collections of Pariah huts), as they firmly believe that it
will lead to their ruin. — Ed.
52 THE ORIGIN OF PARIAHS
occupied by the master of the house. It is said that still
further north the difference between this and other Sudra
castes gradually diminishes, until at last it disappears
altogether.
The origin of this degraded class can be traced to a very
early period, as it is mentioned in the most ancient Puranas.
The Pariahs were most probably composed, in the first
instance, of all the disreputable individuals of different
classes of society, who, on account of various offences, had
forfeited their right to associate with respectable men.
They formed a class apart, and having nothing to fear and
less to lose, they gave themselves up, without restraint, to
their natural tendencies towards vice and excess, in which
they continue to live at the present day.
In very early days, however, the separation between
Pariahs and the other castes does not appear to have been
so marked as at present. Though relegated to the lowest
grade in the social scale, they were not then placed abso-
lutely outside and beyond it, the line of demarcation
between them and the Sudras being almost imperceptible.
Indeed, they are even to this day considered to be the
direct descendants of the better class of agricultural
labourers. The Tamil Vellalers and the Okkala-makkalu-
kanarey do not disdain to call them their children. But
one thing is quite certain, that if these classes share a
common origin with the Pariahs and acknowledge the
same, their actions by no means corroborate their words,
and their treatment of the Pariahs leaves much to be
desired.
Europeans are obliged to have Pariahs for their servants,
because no native of any other caste would condescend to
do such menial work as is exacted by their masters. For
instance, it would be very difficult to find amongst the
Sudras any one who would demean himself by blacking or
greasing boots and shoes, emptying and cleansing chamber
utensils, brushing and arranging hair, &c. ; and certainly
no one could be found who for any consideration whatever
would consent to cook food for them, as this would necessi-
tate touching beef, which is constantly to be seen on the
tables of Europeans, who thereby show an open disregard
of the feelings and prejudices of the people amongst whom
PARIAHS AS DOMESTIC SERVANTS :>:>>
they live. Foreigners are therefore obliged to have recourse
to Pariahs to perform this important domestic service. If
the kind of food which they do not scruple to eat lowers
Europeans in the eyes of the superstitious native, much
more are they lowered by the social status of the people
by whom they are served. For it is a fact recognized by
all Hindus that none but a Pariah would dare to eat food
prepared by Pariahs.
It is undeniable that this want of consideration on the
part of Europeans — or rather the necessity to which they
are reduced of employing Pariahs as servants — renders
them most obnoxious to other classes of natives, and
greatly diminishes the general respect for the white man.
It being impossible to procure servants of a better caste,
foreigners have of necessity to put up with members of
this inferior class, who are dishonest, incapable of any
attachment to their masters, and unworthy of confidence.
Sudras who become servants of Europeans are almost in-
variably vicious and unprincipled, as devoid of all feeling
of honour as they are wanting in resource ; in fact, they
are the scum of their class and of society at large. No
respectable or self-respecting Sudra would ever consent to
enter a service where he would be in danger of being mis-
taken for a Pariah, or would have to consort with Pariahs.
Amongst other reasons which contribute largely to the
dislike that natives of a better class entertain for domestic
service under Europeans, is the feeling that their masters
keep them at such a great distance, and are generally
haughty and even cruel in their demeanour towards them.
But above all things they dread being kicked by a Euro-
pean, not because this particular form of ill-treatment is
physically more painful than any other, but because they
have a horror of being defiled by contact with anything so
unclean as a leather boot or shoe. Pariahs, accustomed
from their childhood to slavery, put up patiently with
affronts of this kind which other natives, who have more
pride and self-respect, are unable to endure.
Under other circumstances, it should be remarked,
domestic service in India is by no means regarded as
degrading. The servant has his meals with his master,
the maid with her mistress, and both go through life on
54 OCCUPATIONS OP PARIAHS
an almost equal footing. The conduct of Europeans being
in this respect so totally different, natives who have any
sense of decency or self-respect feel the greatest repugnance
to taking service with them. One cannot wonder therefore
that only the very dregs of the population will undertake
the work.
But to return to the Pariahs. One is bound to confess
that the evil reputation which is borne by this class is in
many respects well deserved, by reason of the low conduct
and habits of its members. A great many of these un-
fortunate people bind themselves for life, with their wives
and children, to the ryots, or agricultural classes, who set
them to the hardest labour and treat them with the greatest
harshness. The village scavengers, who are obliged to
clean out the public latrines, to sweep the streets, and
to remove all rubbish, invariably belong to this class.
These men, known in the south by the name of totis, are,
however, generally somewhat more humanely treated than
the other Pariahs, because, in addition to the dirty work
above mentioned, they are employed in letting the water
into the tanks and channels for irrigating the rice fields ;
and on this account they are treated with some considera-
tion by the rest of the villagers. Amongst the Pariahs
who are not agricultural slaves there are some who groom
and feed the horses of private individuals, or those used
in the army ; some are in charge of elephants ; others tend
cattle ; others are messengers and carriers ; while others,
again, do ordinary manual work. Within recent times
Pariahs have been allowed to enlist in the European and
Native armies, and some of them have risen to high rank,
for in point of courage and bravery they are in no way
inferior to any other caste. Yet their bringing up puts them
at a great disadvantage in acquiring other qualifications
necessary for the making of a good soldier, for they are
induced with difficulty to conform to military discipline,
and are absolutely deficient in all sense of honour \
Pariahs, being thus convinced that they have nothing to
1 The Abbe is too sweeping in many of his statements about Pariahs.
For instance, in these days at any rate, the Pariah Sepoys in the Madras
army are extremely well disciplined, especially the corps of Sappers.
—Ed.
THEIR VICE AND UNCLEANLINESS
lose or gain in public estimation, abandon themselves
without shame or restraint to vice of all kinds, and the
greatest lawlessness prevails amongst them, for which they
do not feel the least shame. One might almost say that,
in the matter of vice, they outstrip all others in brutality,
as the Brahmins do in malice. Their habits of uncleanli-
ness are disgusting. Their huts, a mass of filth and alive
with insects and vermin, are, if possible, even more loath-
some than their persons. Their harsh and forbidding
features clearly reveal their character, but even these are
an insufficient indication of the coarseness of their minds
and manners. They are much addicted to drunkenness,
a vice peculiarly abhorrent to other Hindus. They in-
toxicate themselves usually with the juice of the palm-
tree, called toddy, which they drink after it has fermented,
and it is then more spirituous. In spite of its horrible
stench they imbibe it as if the nauseous liquid were nectar.
Drunken quarrels are of frequent occurrence amongst
them, and their wives are often sufferers, the unhappy
creatures being nearly beaten to death, even when in
a state of pregnancy. It is to this brutality and violence
of their husbands that I attribute the frequent miscarriages
to which Pariah wives are subject, and which are much
more common amongst them than amongst women of any
other caste.
What chiefly disgusts other natives is the revolting
nature of the food which the Pariahs eat. Attracted by
the smell, they will collect in crowds round any carrion,
and contend for the spoil with dogs, jackals, crows, and
other carnivorous animals. They then divide the semi-
putrid flesh, and carry it away to their huts, where they
devour it, often without rice or anything else to disguise
the flavour. That the animal should have died of disease
is of no consequence to them, and they sometimes secretly
poison cows or buffaloes that they may subsequently feast
on the foul, putrefying remains. The carcases of animals
that die in a village belong by right to the toti or scavenger,
who sells the flesh at a very low price to the other Pariahs
in the neighbourhood. When it is impossible to consume
in one day the stock of meat thus obtained, they dry the
remainder in the sun, and keep it in their huts until they
56 FOOD EATEN BY PARIAHS
run short of olhcr food. There arc few Pariah houses
where one does not see festoons of these horrible fragments
hanging up ; and though the Pariahs themselves do not
seem to be affected by the smell, travellers passing near
their villages quickly perceive it and can tell at once the
caste of the people living there. This horrible food is,
no doubt, the cause of the greater part of the contagious
diseases which decimate them, and from which their neigh-
bours are free.
Is it to be wondered at, after what has just been stated,
that other castes should hold this in abhorrence ? Can
they be blamed for refusing to hold any communication
with such savages, or for obliging them to keep themselves
aloof and to live in separate hamlets ? It is true that with
regard to these Pariahs the other Hindus are apt to carry
their views to excess ; but as we have already pointed out,
and shall often have to point out again, the natural in-
stinct of the natives of India seems to run to extremes in
all cases.
The condition of the Pariahs, which is not really slavery
as it is known amongst us, resembles to a certain extent
that of the serfs of France and other countries of Northern
Europe in olden times. This state of bondage is at its
worst along the coast of Malabar, as are several other
customs peculiar to the country *. The reason is that
Malabar, owing to its position, has generally escaped the
invasions and revolutions which have so often devastated
the rest of India, and has thus managed to preserve un-
altered many ancient institutions, which in other parts
have fallen into disuse.
Of these the two most remarkable are proprietary rights
and slavery. These two systems are apparently insepar-
able one from the other : and, indeed, one may well say,
no land without lord. All the Pariahs born in the country
are serfs for life, from father to son, and are part and parcel
of the land on which they are born. The land-owner can
sell them along with the soil, and can dispose of them when
and how he pleases. This proprietary right and this
system of serfdom have existed from the remotest times,
1 Things in this respect have, of course, changed a great deal for the
better since the Abbe wrote. — Ed.
PARIAH SLAVERY 57
and exist still amongst the Nairs, the Coorgs, and the
Tulus, the three aboriginal tribes of the Malabar coast.
This is, I believe, the only province in India where pro-
prietary right has been preserved intact until the present
day. Everywhere else the soil belongs to the ruler, and
the cultivator is merely his tenant. The lands which he
tills are given to him or taken away from him according
to the w r ill of the Government for the time being. On
the Malabar coast, however, the lands belong to those
who have inherited them from their forefathers, and these
in their turn possess the right of handing them down to
their descendants. Here the lands may be alienated, sold,
given away, or disposed of according to the will of the
owners. In a word, the jus utendi et abutendi, which is the
basis of proprietary right, belongs entirely to them. Every
landed proprietor in that country possesses a community
of Pariahs to cultivate his fields, who are actually his
slaves and form an integral part of his property. All
children born of these Pariahs are serfs by birth, just as
their parents were ; and their master has the right, if he
choose, to sell or dispose of parents and children in any
way that he pleases. If one of these Pariahs escapes and
takes service under another master, his real master can
recover him anywhere as his own property. If a proprietor
happens to possess more slaves than he requires for cultivat-
ing his land, he sells some to other landlords who are less
fortunate than himself. It is by no means uncommon to
see a debtor, who is unable to pay his debts in hard cash,
satisfy his creditors by handing over to them a number of
his Pariah slaves. The price of these is not exorbitant.
A male still young enough to work will fetch three rupees
and a hundred seers of rice, which is about the value of
a bullock.
But the landed proprietors do not usually sell their
slaves except in cases of great emergency ; and even then
they can only sell them within the borders of their own
country. In no case have they a right to export them
for sale to foreigners.
Each land- owner in the province of Malabar lives in
a house that is isolated in the middle of his estate. Here
he dwells, surrounded by his community of Pariah serfs,
58 HUMANE TREATMENT OF SLAVES
who are always remarkably submissive to him. Some
land-owners possess over a hundred of them. They treat
them usually in the most humane manner. They give
them only such work as their age or strength permits ;
feed them on the same rice that they themselves eat ; give
them in marriage when they come of age ; and every year
provide them with clothing, four or five yards of cloth for
the women and a coarse woollen blanket for the men.
In Malabar it is only the Pariahs who are thus con-
demned to perpetual slavery ; but then there are no free
men amongst them. All are born slaves from generation
to generation. They have not even a right to buy their
own freedom ; and if they wish to secure their indepen-
dence they can only do so by escaping secretly from the
country. All the same, I have not heard that they often
resort to this extremity. They are accustomed from father
to son to this state of servitude ; they are kindly treated
by their masters ; they eat the same food as they do ;
they are never forced to do tasks beyond their strength ;
and thus they have no notion of what freedom or inde-
pendence means, and are happily resigned to their lot.
They look upon their master as their father, and consider
themselves to belong to his family. As a matter of fact,
their physical condition, which is the only thing that appeals
to their senses, is much better than that of their brethren
who are free. At any rate, the Pariah slave of Malabar is
certain of a living, the supreme requirement of nature,
whereas the free Pariah of other provinces lives for half
his time in actual want of the meanest subsistence, and is
often exposed to death from starvation l .
It is indeed a piteous sight, the abject and half-starved
condition in which this wretched caste, the most numerous
of all, drags out its existence. It is true that amongst
1 The slaves spoken of here are not Pariahs but Cherumars, who claim
to be somewhat superior in rank to the Pariahs. From 1792 the East
India Company steadily endeavoured to emancipate the Cherumars. In
1843 an Emancipation Act was passed, but it was explained to the
Cherumars that it was their interest, as well as their duty, to remain
with their masters if treated kindly. ' Sections 370, 371, &c. of the
Indian Penal Code,' writes Mr. Logan in his Malabar Manual, 'which
came into force on Jan. 1, 1862, dealt the real final blow at slavery in
India.' — Ed.
PARIAH IMPROVIDENCE 59
Pariahs it is an invariable rule, almost a point of honour,
to spend everything they earn and to take no thought for
the morrow. The majority of them, men and women,
are never clothed in anything but old rags. But in order
to obtain a true idea of their abject misery one must live
amongst them, as I have been obliged to do. About half
of my various congregations consisted of Pariah Christians.
Wherever I went I was constantly called in to administer
the last consolations of religion to people of this class.
On reaching the hut to which my duty led me, I was often
obliged to creep in on my hands and knees, so low was
the entrance door to the wretched hovel. When once
inside, I could only partially avoid the sickening smell by
holding to my nose a handkerchief soaked in the strongest
vinegar. I would find there a mere skeleton, perhaps
lying on the bare ground, though more often crouching on
a rotten piece of matting, with a stone or a block of wood
as a pillow. The miserable creature would have for cloth-
ing a rag tied round the loins, and for covering a coarse
and tattered blanket that left half the body naked. I
would seat myself on the ground by his side, and the first
words I heard would be : ' Father, I am dying of cold and
hunger.' I would spend a quarter of an hour or so by
him, and at last leave this sad spectacle with my heart
torn asunder by the sadness and hopelessness of it all,
and my body covered in every part with insects and vermin.
Yet, after all, this was the least inconvenience that I suffered,
for I could rid myself of them by changing my clothes and
taking a hot bath. The only thing that really afflicted me
was having to stand face to face with such a spectacle of
utter misery and all its attendant horrors, and possessing
no means of affording any save the most inadequate
remedies.
Oh ! if those who are blessed with this world's goods,
and who are so inclined to create imaginary troubles for
themselves because they have no real ones ; if the dis-
contented and ambitious who are always ready to grumble
and complain of their fate, because perchance they have
only the mere necessaries and are unable to procure the
luxuries and pleasures of life ; if they would only pause
for a moment and contemplate this harrowing picture of
(50 THE PALLERS
want and misery, liovv much more gratefully would they
appreciate the lot that Providence has assigned to them !
As for myself, for the first ten or twelve years that
1 was in India, I lived in such abject poverty that I had
hardly sufficient means to procure the bare necessaries of
life ; but even then I was as happy and contented as I am
now that I am better off. Besides the consolations which
my religion gave me under these trying circumstances, my
reason found me others in the reflection that nineteen-
twentieths of the people among whom I was living were
bearing far greater trials of all kinds than any that I was
called on to endure.
Besides the Pariahs, who are to be found all over the
Peninsula, there are in certain provinces other clashes
composed of individuals who equal and even surpass them
in depravity of mind and customs, and in the contempt
in which they are held. Such, for instance, is the caste
of Palters, who are only found in Madura and in the neigh-
bourhood of Cape Comorin. The Pallers consider them-
selves superior to the Pariahs, inasmuch as they do not
eat the flesh of the cow ; but the Pariahs look on them
as altogether their inferiors, because they are the scum of
the Left-hand faction, whilst they themselves are the
mainstay of the Right-hand.
These two classes of degraded beings can never agree,
and wherever they are found in fairly equal numbers, the
disputes and quarrels amongst them are interminable.
They lead the same sort of life, enjoy an equal share of
public opprobrium, and both are obliged to live far apart
from all other classes of the inhabitants.
Amongst the forests on the Malabar coast there lives
a tribe which, incredible as it may seem, surpasses the two
of which I have just spoken in degradation and squalid
misery. They are called Puliahs, and are looked upon as
below the level of the beasts which share this wild country
with them. They are not even allowed to build them-
selves huts to protect themselves from the inclemencies of
the weather. A sort of lean-to, supported by four bamboo
poles and open at the sides, serves as a shelter for some of
them, and keeps off the rain, though it does not screen
them from the wind. Most of them, however, make for
THE PULIAHS AND CHUCKLERS 6]
themselves what may be called nests in the brandies of
the thickest-foliaged trees, where they perch like birds of
prey for the greater part of the twenty-four hours. They
are not even allowed to walk peaceably along the high-
roads. If they see any one coming towards them, they
are bound to utter a certain cry and to go a long way
round to avoid passing him. A hundred paces is the
very nearest they may approach any one of a different
caste. If a Nair, who always carries arms, meets one of
these unhappy people on the road, he is entitled to stab
him on the spot 1 . The Puliahs live an absolutely savage
life, and have no communication whatever with the rest
of the world.
The Chucklers, or cobblers, are also considered inferior
to the Pariahs all over the Peninsula, and, as a matter of
fact, they show that they are of a lower grade by their
more debased ideas, their greater ignorance and brutality.
They are also much more addicted to drunkenness and
debauchery. Their orgies take place principally in the
evening, and their villages resound, far into the night,
with the yells and quarrels which result from their intoxica-
tion. Nothing will persuade them to work as long as they
have anything to drink ; they only return to their labour
when they have absolutely no further means of satisfying
their ruling passion. Thus they spend their time in alter-
nate bouts of work and drunkenness. The women of this
wretched class do not allow their husbands to outshine
them in any vice, and are quite as much addicted to drunken-
ness as the men. Their modesty and general behaviour
may therefore be easily imagined. The very Pariahs refuse
to have anything to do with the Chucklers, and do not
admit them to any of their feasts.
There is one class amongst the Pariahs which rules all
the rest of the caste. These are the Valluvas 2 , who are
called the Brahmins of the Pariahs in mockery. They keep
themselves quite distinct from the others, and only inter-
marry in their own class. They consider themselves as
1 No native is nowadays allowed to carry arms without a licence.
But even now the Puliahs are forbidden to approach a person of higher
caste. They always stand at a distance of 20 to 30 yards. — Ed.
2 These are sometimes physicians and astrologers. — Ed.
62 BARBERS AND WASHERMEN
the gurus, or spiritual advisers, of the rest. It is they
who preside at all the marriages and other religious cere-
monies of the Pariahs. They predict all the absurdities
mentioned in the Hindu almanac, such as lucky and un-
lucky days, favourable or unfavourable moments for
beginning a fresh undertaking, and other prophecies of
a like nature. But they are forbidden to meddle with
anything pertaining to astronomy, such as the foretelling
of eclipses, changes of the moon, &c, this prerogative
belonging exclusively to the Brahmins.
There are other classes too, which, though a trifle higher
in the Hindu social scale, are for all that not treated with
much more respect. Firstly, amongst the Sudras there are
those who follow servile occupations, or at least occupa-
tions dependent on the public ; secondly, those who per-
form low and disgusting offices, which expose them to
frequent defilements ; and, thirdly, there are the nomadic
tribes, who are always wandering about the country,
having no fixed abode.
Amongst the first I place the barbers and the washer-
men. There are men belonging to these two employments
in every village, and no one exercising the same profession
can come from another village to work in theirs without
their express permission. Their employments are trans-
mitted from father to son, and those who pursue them
form two distinct castes.
The barber's business is to trim the beard, shave the
head, pare the nails on hands and feet, and clean the ears
of all the inhabitants of his village. In several of the
southern provinces the inhabitants have all the hair on
different parts of their bodies shaved off, with the excep-
tion of the eye-brows ; and this custom is always observed
by Brahmins on marriage days and other solemn occasions '.
The barbers are also the surgeons of the country. What-
ever be the nature of the operation that they are called on
to perform, their razor is their only instrument, if it is a
question of amputation ; or a sort of stiletto, which they
1 This custom of shaving the hair from all parts of the body, for
ceremonies where absolute purity is required, is not peculiar to the
Brahmins ; it was also common amongst the Jews, for the same reason,
and was part of their ceremonial law (Numbers viii. 6, 7). — Dubois.
THEIR DESPISED CONDITION 63
use for paring nails, if they have to open an abscess, or
the like. They are also the only accredited fiddlers ; and
they share with the Pariahs the exclusive right of playing
wind instruments, as will be seen presently.
As to the washermen, their business is much the same
here as everywhere else, except for the extreme filthiness
of the rags that are entrusted to them to be cleaned.
Those engaged in these two occupations are in such
a dependent position that they dare not refuse to work
for any one who chooses to employ them. They are paid
in kind at harvest time by each inhabitant of their village.
No doubt the contempt in which they are held by men of
other castes, who look upon them as menials, is due partly
to this state of subjection, and also to the uncleanness of
the things which they are compelled to handle.
The potters also are a very low class, being absolutely
uneducated.
The five castes of artisans, of which I have already
spoken, and also, as a rule, all those employed in mechanical
or ornamental arts, are very much looked down upon and
despised.
The Moochis, or tanners, though better educated and
more refined than any of the preceding classes, are not
much higher in the social scale. The other Sudras never
allow them to join in their feasts ; indeed, they would
hardly condescend to give them a drop of water to drink.
This feeling of repulsion is caused by the defilement which
ensues from their constantly handling the skins of dead
animals.
As a rule, the mechanical and the liberal arts, such as
music, painting, and sculpture, are placed on very much
the same level, and those who follow these professions,
which are left entirely to the lower castes of the Sudras,
are looked upon with equal disfavour 1 .
As far as I know, only the Moochis take up painting as
a profession. Instrumental music, and particularly that
of wind instruments, is left exclusively, as I have already
1 Those who follow these liberal arts are treated with more respect in
these clays. At all events, they are not looked upon with disfavour.
There are now many Brahmins in Southern India who are professional
musicians, though they play on certain instruments only. — Ki>.
64 BINDU PAINTING AND MUSIC
mentioned, to the barbers and Pariahs 1 . The little pro-
gress that is made in these arts is no doubt due to the
small amount of encouragement which they receive. As
for painting, one never sees anything but daubs. The
Hindus are quite satisfied if their artists can draw designs
of striking figures painted in the most vivid colours. Our
best engravings, if they are uncoloured, or our finest
miniatures or landscapes, are quite valueless in their eyes.
Though the Hindus much enjoy listening to music, and
introduce it freely into all their public and private cere-
monies, both religious and social, yet it must be admitted
that this charming art is here still in its infancy. I should
say Hindus are no further advanced in it now than they
were two or three thousand years ago. They do not expect
their musicians to produce harmonious tunes when they
play at their feasts and ceremonies, for their dull ears
would certainly not appreciate them. What they like is
plenty of noise and plenty of shrill piercing sounds. Their
musicians are certainly able to comply with their wishes
in this respect. Such discordant noises are infinitely more
pleasing to them than our melodious airs, which possess
no charm whatever for them. Of all our various instru-
ments, they care only for drums and trumpets. Their
vocal music, too, is not a whit more pleasing to European
ears than their instrumental. Their songs are chiefly
remarkable for uninspiring monotony ; and though they
have a scale like ours, composed of seven notes, they have
not tried to produce from it those harmonies and combina-
tions which fall so deliciously on our ears.
Why is it, it may well be asked, that it should be con-
sidered shameful to play on wind instruments in India ?
I suppose it is on account of the defilement which the players
contract by putting such instruments to their mouths after
they have once been touched by saliva, which, as I shall
show presently, is the one excretion from the human body
for which Hindus display invincible horror. There is by
no means the same feeling with regard to stringed instru-
ments. In fact, you may often hear Brahmins singing and
accompanying themselves on a sort of lute which is known
1 Classes superior to the barbers and Pariahs also play wind instru-
ments at the present time. — Ed.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 65
by the name of vina. This instrument has a rather agree-
able tone, and would be still more pleasing if the sounds
extracted from it were more varied. It has always been
a favourite amongst the better classes ; and its invention
must date from an extremely remote period, for it is often
mentioned in Hindu books, where the gods themselves are
represented as playing on the vina to soothe themselves
with its sweet melodies. It is generally taught by Brah-
mins ; and as their lessons are very expensive, and they
persuade their pupils that a great many are necessary in
order to attain proficiency, it is obvious that none but the
rich can afford themselves this pleasure.
The vina of the Hindus is probably the same as the
cithara l , or harp, of the Jews, in playing which King
David excelled, and with which he produced those melo-
dies which soothed and calmed his unfortunate master Saul,
after God had given Saul up as a prey to his evil passions.
Besides the vina, the Brahmins have another stringed
instrument called Icinnahra, which is something like a
guitar, and the tone of which is not unpleasant.
The Hindus do not use gut for the strings of their in-
struments, as Europeans do. They would not dare to
touch anything so impure, for if they did they would con-
sider themselves defiled by the contact. To avoid such
a serious impurity they use metal strings.
I will now turn to the nomadic castes, which swell the
number of wretched and degraded beings amongst the
nation I am describing. Without any fixed abode, wander-
ing about from one country to another, the individuals of
which these vagabond tribes are composed pay little or
no attention to the various customs which are obligatory
on every respectable Hindu ; and this is why they are so
cordially detested.
One of the largest of these castes is that which is known
in the south by the name of Kuravers or Kurumarus.
This is subdivided into two branches, one of which carries
on a trade in salt. Gangs of men bring this article from
the coast and distribute it in the interior of the country,
using asses, of which they possess considerable numbers,
1 The Mahomedans of Northern India have a stringed instrument
known as cithar. — Ed.
DUBOIS D
66 WANDERING TRIBES
as their means of transport. As soon as they have sold
or bartered this commodity, they reload the asses with
different kinds of grain, for which there is a ready sale on
the coast, and start off again at once. Thus their whole
lives are spent in hurrying from one country to another
without settling down in any place.
The occupation of the second branch of these Kuravers
is to make baskets and mats of osier and bamboo, and other
similar utensils which are used in Hindu households. They
are obliged to be perpetually moving from one place to
another to find work, and are without any fixed abode.
The Kuravers are also the fortune-tellers of the country.
They speak a language peculiar to themselves, which is
unintelligible to any other Hindu. Their manners and
customs have much in common with those of the wandering
tribes that are known in England as Gypsies, and in France
as Egyptians, or Bohemians. Their women tell the fortunes
of those who consult them and are willing to pay them.
The person who wishes to learn his fate seats himself in
front of the soothsayer and holds out his hand, while she
beats a little drum, invokes all her gods or evil spirits,
and gabbles aloud a succession of fantastic words. These
preliminaries over, she studies with the most scrupulous
attention the lines on the hand of the simple-minded
person who is consulting her, and finally predicts the good
or evil fortune that is in store for him. Many attempts
have been made to trace the origin of these wandering
tribes, who are to be found telling fortunes all over the
world. The general opinion appears to be that they origin-
ally came from Egypt, but this view might possibly be
changed if these Kuravers of India were to be closely
examined, and their language, manners, and customs com-
pared with those of the Gypsies and Bohemians.
The Kuraver women also tattoo the designs of flowers
and animals which decorate the arms of most young Hindu
women. The tattooing is done by first delicately tracing
the desired objects on the skin, then pricking the outline
gently with a needle, and immediately after rubbing in
the juice of certain plants, whereby the design becomes
indelible.
The Kurumarus are much addicted to stealing, and from
THE KALLA-BANTRUS 67
this tribe come the professional thieves and pickpockets
known by the name of Kalla-bantrus. These people make
a study of the art of stealing, and all the dodges of their
infamous profession are instilled into them from their
youth. To this end their parents teach them to lie obsti-
nately, and train them to suffer tortures rather than divulge
what it is to their interest to hide. Far from being ashamed
of their profession, the Kalla-bantrus glory in it, and when
they have nothing to fear they take the greatest pleasure
in boasting of the clever thefts they have committed in
various places. Those who, caught in the act, have been
badly hurt, or who have been deprived by the magistrates
of nose, ears, or right hand, show their scars and mutila-
tions with pride, as proofs of their courage and intrepidity ;
and these men are usually the chosen heads of their caste.
They always commit their depredations at night. Noise-
lessly entering a village, they place sentinels along the
different roads, while they select the houses that can be
entered with the least risk. These they creep into, and in
a few minutes strip them of all the metal vessels and other
valuables they can find, including the gold and silver
ornaments which the sleeping women and children wear
round their necks. They never break open the doors of
the houses, for that would make too much noise and so
lead to their detection. Their plan is to pierce the mud
wall of the house with a sharp iron instrument specially
made for the purpose, with which they can in a few moments
easily make a hole large enough for a man to creep through.
They are so clever that they generally manage to carry out
their depredations without being either seen or heard by
any one. But if they happen to be surprised, the Kalla-
bantrus make a desperate resistance and do their best to
escape. If one of their number is killed in the scrimmage,
they will run any risk to obtain possession of the corpse.
They then cut off the head and carry it away with them
to avoid discovery.
In the provinces which are governed by native princes,
these villains are, to a certain extent, protected by the
authorities, who countenance their depredations in return
for a stipulated sum, or on condition that they pay the
value of half the booty that they steal to the revenue
68 THE KALLA-BANTRUS AS THIEVES
collector of the locality. But as such an understanding
could not possibly be anything more than tacit in any
civilized country, this infamous arrangement is kept secret.
The culprits, therefore, can expect no compensation to be
publicly awarded them by the magistrates for the wounds
and mutilations which they may suffer in the course of
their nocturnal raids ; but these same magistrates will do
their best to screen or palliate their offences, the profits
of which they share, and will always protect their clients
from well-deserved punishment when they appear before
them in court.
The last Mussulman prince who governed Mysore had
a regular regiment of Kalla-bantrus in his service, whom he
employed, not to fight amongst his troops, but to despoil
the enemy's camp during the night, to steal the horses,
carry off any valuables they could find amongst the officers'
baggage, spike the enemy's guns, and act as spies. They
were paid according to their skill and success. In times of
peace they were sent into neighbouring States to pilfer for
the benefit of their master, and also to report on the pro-
ceedings of the rulers. The minor native princes called
Poligars always employ a number of these ruffians for the
same purposes.
In the provinces where these Kalla-bantrus are coun-
tenanced by the Government, the unfortunate inhabitants
have no other means of protecting themselves from their
depredations than by making an agreement with the head
of the gang to pay him an annual tax of a quarter of a
rupee and a fowl per house, in consideration of which he
becomes responsible for all the thefts committed by his
people in villages which are thus, so to say, insured 1 .
Besides the Kalla-bantrus of the Kurumaru caste, the
province of Mysore is infested by another caste of thieves,
called Kanojis, who are no less dreaded than the others.
But of all the nomadic castes which wander about the
country, the best known and most detested is the Lambadis,
or Sukalers, or Brinjaris. No one knows the origin of this
caste. The members of it have different manners and
1 This, of course, is no longer allowed. The thieving classes have,
under a more rigid system of police, been compelled to take to more
lawful pursuits. — En.
THE LAMBADIS 69
customs, and also a different religion and language from
all the other castes of Hindus. Certain points of resem-
blance, however, which are to be found between them and
the Mahrattas, lead one to believe that they must have
sprung from these people in the first instance, and have
inherited from them their propensities for rapine and theft,
and their utter disregard for the rights of property when
they think they are stronger than their victims and are
safe from retributory justice. However, the severe sen-
tences that the magistrates have latterly passed on them
in several districts have exercised a salutary influence.
They no longer dare to rob and steal openly. But the
lonely traveller who meets them in some lonely spot had
better beware, especially if they have reason to think that
he would be worth plundering.
In time of war they attach themselves to the army where
discipline is least strict. They come swarming in from all
parts, hoping, in the general disorder and confusion, to be
able to thieve with impunity. They make themselves very
useful by keeping the market well supplied with the pro-
visions that they have stolen on the march. They hire
themselves and their large herds of cattle to whichever
contending party will pay them best, acting as carriers of
the supplies and baggage of the army. They were thus
employed, to the number of several thousands, by the
English in their last war with the Sultan of Mysore. The
English, however, had occasion to regret having taken
these untrustworthy and ill-disciplined people into their
service, when they saw them ravaging the country through
which they passed and causing more annoyance than the
whole of the enemy's army. The frequent and severe
punishments that were inflicted on their chiefs had no
restraining effect whatever on the rest of the horde. They
had been attracted solely by the hope of plunder, and
thought little of the regular wages and other inducements
which had been promised them.
In times of peace these professional brigands occupy
themselves in trading in grain and salt, which they convey
from one part of the country to the other on their bullocks ;
but at the least whisper of war, or the slightest sign of
coming trouble, they are at once on the look-out, ready to
70 HUMAN SACRIFICES
take advantage in the first moment of confusion of any
opportunity for pillaging. In fact, the unfortunate in-
habitants of the country fear an invasion of a hostile army
far less than they do a sudden irruption of these terrible
Lambadis.
Of all the castes of the Hindus this particular one is
acknowledged to be the most brutal. The natural pro-
clivities of its members for evil are clearly indicated by
their ill-favoured, wild appearance and their coarse, hard-
featured countenances, these characteristics being as
noticeable in the women as in the men. In all parts of
India they are under the special supervision of the police,
because there is only too much reason for mistrusting them.
Their women are, for the most part, very ugly and
revoltingly dirty. Amongst other glaring vices they are
supposed to be much addicted to incontinency ; and they
are reputed to sometimes band themselves together in
search of men whom they compel by force to satisfy their
lewd desires.
The Lambadis are accused of the still more atrocious
crime of offering up human sacrifices. When they wish to
perform this horrible act, it is said, they secretly carry off
the first person they meet. Having conducted the victim
to some lonely spot, they dig a hole in which they bury
him up to the neck. While he is still alive they make
a sort of lamp of dough made of flour, which they place
on his head. This they fill with oil, and light four wicks
in it. Having done this, the men and women join hands,
and, forming a circle, dance round their victim, singing
and making a great noise, till he expires.
Amongst other curious customs of this odious caste is
one that obliges them to drink no water which is not
drawn from springs or wells. The water from rivers or
tanks being thus forbidden, they are obliged in a case of
absolute necessity to dig a little hole by the side of a tank
or river and take the water that filters through, which by
this means is supposed to become spring water.
Another nomadic caste is that of the Wuddars, whose
trade is to dig wells, tanks, and canals, and to repair dykes.
They, too, have to travel about in search of work. This
caste is also much despised. The manners of the individuals
THE PAKANATTIS 71
composing it are as low as their origin, and their minds as
uncultivated as their manners. Their extreme uncouthness
may, perhaps, account for the low estimation in which they
are held.
In Mysore, and in the north-west of the Carnatic, another
caste of nomads is to be met with, known as Pakanattis.
They speak Telugu, and originally formed part of the caste
of Gollavarus, or shepherds, and were agriculturists. They
took to their present kind of life about a hundred and fifty
years ago, and like it so much that it would be impossible
to persuade them to change it for any regular occupation.
The cause of their secession from the rest of their caste
was that one of their headmen was grievously insulted by
the governor of the province in which they lived. As they
never received any redress at all commensurate with the
affront, they determined to avenge themselves by deserting
their homes in a body, and thus bringing all the agricul-
tural work of the country to a standstill. From that time
to this they have never attempted to return to their former
mode of life, but are always wandering from place to place
without settling anywhere. Some of their headmen, with
whom I have conversed, have told me that they number
about two thousand families, half of whom wander through
the Telugu country and the rest through Mysore. The
headmen meet from time to time to settle the differences
which frequently arise amongst the members. However,
the Pakanattis are the quietest and best behaved of all the
wandering tribes. They are kept in excellent order ; and
though they always go about in bands, theft and pillage
are unknown amongst them, and if any of them are found
guilty of either, they are severely punished by the rest.
They are all most miserably poor ; the better off possess
a few buffaloes and cows, the milk of which they sell, but
the greater number of them are professional herbalists.
They collect plants, roots, and other things in the different
countries that they wander through, such as are used for
medicine or dyes, or for salves, &c, for horses and cattle.
These they sell in the bazaars, and the little money that
they thus earn helps them considerably. They supplement
their livelihood by hunting, fishing, begging, and charlatanry.
All these tribes live entirely isolated from the rest of
72 NOMADIC CAMPS
the world, with whom they hold no communication, except
in order to obtain the bare necessaries of life. They lead
for the most part a pastoral life, and their headmen occa-
sionally possess considerable herds of eattle, consisting of
bullocks, buffaloes, and asses. They travel in bands of ten,
twenty, thirty, or more families. They shelter themselves
under bamboo or osier mats, which they carry everywhere
with them. Each family has its own mat tent, seven or
eight feet long, four or five feet broad, and three or four
feet high, in which father, mother, children, poultry, and
sometimes even pigs, are housed, or rather huddled together,
this being their only protection against bad weather. They
always choose woods or lonely places as sites for their
camps, so that no one can see what goes on amongst them.
Besides their mat tents and the other necessaries for camp-
ing, they always take care to be provided with small stores
of grain, as well as with the household utensils necessary
for preparing and cooking their food. Those who possess
beasts of burden make them carry the greater part of their
goods and chattels, but the unfortunate wTetches who have
no other means of transport are compelled to carry alj
their worldly possessions, that is to say, the necessaries
for housing and feeding themselves. I have seen the
husband carrying on his head and shoulders the tent, the
provisions, and some earthen vessels, whilst the wife, her
body half uncovered, carried an infant on her back, hanging
behind her in the upper part of her cotton garment ; on
her head was the mortar for husking the rice ; while follow-
ing her came a child bending under the weight of the rest
of the household chattels.
I have often seen this sad spectacle, and always with
deep feelings of pity. Such is the kind of life which many
Hindus are accustomed to, and which they bear without
murmuring or complaining, and without even appearing
to envy those whose lives are spent in pleasanter places.
Each one of these nomadic tribes has its own habits,
laws, and customs ; and each forms a small and perfectly
independent republic of its own, governed by such rules
and regulations as seem best to them. Nothing is known
by the outside world of what happens amongst them.
The chiefs of each caste are elected or dismissed by a
NOMAD SELF-GOVERNMENT 73
majority of votes. They are commissioned, during the
time that their authority lasts, to enforce the caste rules,
to settle disputes, and to punish all misdemeanour and
crime. But however heinous offences may be, they never
involve the penalty of death or mutilation. The guilty
person has only either to pay a fine, or suffer a severe
flogging or some other corporal punishment. Travelling
ceaselessly from one country to another, these vagrant
families pay no tax to any Government : the majority
possess nothing, and they have consequently no need of
the protection of a prince to guard them against spoliation.
Further, they have no claims to take before the courts,
since they administer justice themselves ; and being with-
out any ambition, they ask neither pardon nor favour from
any prince. All these nomadic tribes stink in the nostrils
of other Hindus, owing to the kind of life which they lead,
to the small esteem in which they hold the religious practices
observed by other castes, and, lastly, to the vulgar vices
to which they are enslaved. But the heaviest indictment
against them is their excessive intemperance in eating and
drinking. With the exception of cow's flesh, they eat in-
discriminately of every kind of food, even the most revolt-
ing, such as the flesh of foxes, cats, rats, snakes, crows, &c.
Both men and women drink to excess toddy and arrack,
i.e. the spirit of the country, and they will consume every
kind of liquor and enervating drug which they can procure.
The majority of these vagabonds live in a state of ex-
treme poverty. When no other resource remains to them
they beg, or else send their women to earn their livelihood
by prostitution.
Among the degraded beings who form the dregs of
society in India must be classed the jugglers, the charlatans,
mountebanks, conjurers, acrobats, rope-dancers, &c. There
are two or three castes which practise these professions,
travelling from country to country to find patrons or dupes.
It is not surprising, with a people so credulous and endued
with such a love of the marvellous as the Hindus, that such
impostors should abound. They are regarded as magicians
and sorcerers, as men versed in witchcraft and all the occult
sciences, and are viewed with fear and distrust ; while the
hatred in which they arc held is much greater than is
71 JUGGLERS AND QUACKS
Ebcci >rded in Europe to people of the same description.
Some of these charlatans cany on a trade with a credulous
public in quack medicines and universal panaceas. They
may often be heard in the street haranguing the multitude
and extolling their wares. They even surpass our own
quacks in effrontery and barefaced imposture. Others are
conjurers or acrobats ; and both one and the other perform
really astonishing feats of legerdemain and agility. Euro-
pean jugglers would certainly have to lower their colours
before them.
The best known of these castes is that of the Bombers or
Dombarus. To the earnings which the men make by their
industry the women also add the sums that they gain by
the most shameless immorality ; their favours, if such a
word be applicable, are accorded to any one who likes to
pay for them. However, in spite of all this, the Dombers
lead a wretched life ; and their extreme poverty is caused
by their boundless intemperance. They always spend in
eating and drinking much more than they actually possess ;
and when all their means are exhausted they have recourse
to begging.
Other troops of vagabonds of the same class adopt the
profession of travelling actors. I once met a large party
who were representing the ten Avatars (or incarnations) of
Vishnu, on which subject they had composed as many
sacred plays. The greater number of them, however, play
obscene and ridiculous farces in the streets, with boards
and trestles for their stage ; or else they exhibit marionettes,
which they place in disgusting postures, making them give
utterance to the most pitiable and filthy nonsense. These
shows are exactly suited to the taste and comprehension
of the stupid crowd which forms the audience. Hindu
players have learned from experience that they can never
rivet the attention of the public except at the expense of
decency, modesty, or good sense l .
Some Hindu jugglers turn their attention to snake-
charming, especially with cobras, the most poisonous of
all. These they teach to dance, or to move in rhythm to
1 At the present time there are many Indian theatrical eompanies
formed somewhat after the fashion of European eompanies. Their per-
formances, too, have improved a great deal since the Abbe's time. — Ed.
SNAKE-CHARMERS 75
music ; and they perform what appear to be the most
alarming tricks with these deadly reptiles. In spite of all
their care and skill it sometimes happens that they are
bitten ; and this would infallibly cost them their lives, did
they not take the precaution to excite the snake every
morning, forcing it to bite several times through a thick
piece of stuff so that it may rid itself of the venom that
re-forms daily in its fangs. They also pose as possessors of
the secret of enchanting snakes, pretending that they can
attract them with the sound of their flutes. This craft
was practised elsewhere in the very earliest times, as may
be gathered from a passage in Holy Scripture, where the
obstinacy of a hardened sinner is likened to that of a deaf
adder that shuts its ears to the voice of the charmer. Be
that as it may, I can vouch for it that the pretended power
of Hindu snake-charmers is a mere imposture. They keep
a few trained tame snakes, which are accustomed to come
to them at the sound of a flute, and when they have settled
the amount of their reward with the persons who think,
or have been persuaded, that there are snakes in the
vicinity of their houses, they place one of these tame
reptiles in some corner, taking care not to be observed.
One of the conditions on which they always insist is that
any snake which they charm out of a hole shall not be killed,
but shall be handed over to them. This point settled, the
charmer seats himself on the ground and begins to play
on his flute, turning first to one side, then to the other.
The snake, on hearing these familiar sounds, comes out of
its hiding-place, and crawls towards its master, gliding
quietly into the basket in which it is usually shut up.
The charmer then takes his reward and goes off in search
of other dupes \
I will now give some particulars about the wild tribes
which inhabit the jungles and mountains in the south of
India. They are divided into several castes, each of which
is composed of various communities. They are fairly
1 Even to this clay there is a class of village servants called Kudimis,
whose business it is to collect medicinal herbs and other plants that
might be required by the people. These Krtdijnix arc also professional
snake-catchers, and are supposed to possess infallible antidotes against
snake- poison . — Ed.
76 JUNGLE TRIBES
numerous in many places in the Malabar hills, or Western
Ghauts, where they are known by the generic name of
Kadu-Kurumbars. These savages live in the forests, but
have no fixed abode. After staying a year or two in one
place they move on to another. Having selected the spot
for their temporary sojourn, they surround it with a kind
of hedge, and each family chooses a little patch of ground,
which is dug up with a sharp piece of wood hardened in
the fire. There they sow small seeds, and a great many
pumpkins, cucumbers, and other vegetables ; and on these
they live for two or three months in the year. They have
little or no intercourse with the more civilized inhabitants
of the neighbourhood. The latter indeed prefer to keep
them at a distance from their houses, as they stand in con-
siderable dread of them, looking upon them as sorcerers
or mischievous people, whom it is unlucky even to meet.
If they suspect a Kadu-Kurumbar of having brought about
illness or any other mishap by his spells, they punish him
severely, sometimes even putting him to death.
During the rains these savages take shelter in miserable
huts. Some find refuge in caves, or holes in the rocks, or
in the hollow trunks of old trees. In fine weather they
camp out in the open. At night each clan assembles at
a given spot, and enormous fires are lit to keep off the cold
and to scare away wild beasts. Men, women, and children
all sleep huddled together anyhow. The poor wretches
wear no clothes, a woman's only covering being a few
leaves sewn together and tied round the waist. Knowing
only of the simple necessities of existence, they find enough
to satisfy their wants in the forest. Roots and other
natural products of the earth, snakes and animals that they
can snare or catch, honey that they find on the rugged
rocks or in the tops of trees, which they climb with the
agility of monkeys; all these furnish them with the means of
satisfying the cravings of hunger. Less intelligent even than
the natives of Africa, these savages of India do not possess
bows and arrows, which they do not know how to use.
It is to them that the dwellers in the plains apply when
they require wood with which to build their houses. The
jungle tribes supply them with all materials of this kind,
in exchange for a few valueless objects, such as copper
THE KADU-KURUMBARS 77
or brass bangles, small quantities of grain, or a little tobacco
to smoke l .
Both men and women occupy themselves in making reed
or bamboo mats, baskets, hampers, and other household
articles, which they exchange with the inhabitants of more
civilized parts for salt, pepper, grain, &c.
According to the people of the plains, these savages
can, by means of witchcraft and enchantments, charm all
the tigers, elephants, and venomous snakes which share the
forests with them, so that they need never fear their attacks.
Their children are accustomed from their earliest infancy
to the hard life to which nature appears to have condemned
them. The very day after their confinement the women
are obliged to scour the woods with their husbands in order
to find the day's food. Before starting they suckle the
new-born child, and make a hole in the ground, in which
they put a layer of teak leaves. The leaves are so rough
that if they rub the skin ever so gently they draw blood.
In this hard bed the poor little creature is laid, and there
it remains till its mother returns in the evening. On the
fifth or sixth day after birth they begin to accustom their
infants to eat solid food ; and in order to harden them at
once to endure inclement weather, they wash them every
morning in cold dew, which they collect from the trees and
plants. Until the infants can walk, they are left by them-
selves from morning till night, quite naked, exposed to
sun, wind, rain, and air, and buried in the holes which
serve them for cradles.
The whole religion of these savages seems to consist in
the worship of bhootams, or evil spirits, which worship they
perform in a way peculiar to themselves. They pay no
regard whatever to the rest of the Hindu deities.
Besides the Kadu-Kurumbars there is another tribe of
savages living in the forests and mountains of the Carnatic,
and known by the name of Irulers, or in some places
Soligurus. Their habits are identical with those of the
Kadu-Kurumbars. They lead the same kind of life, have
the same religion, customs, and prejudices ; in fact, one
may say that the difference between the two tribes exists
only in name.
1 These transactions are now regulated by the forest laws. — En.
78 THE MALAI-KONDIGARUS
In several parts of Malabar a tribe is to be found called
the Malai-Kondigaru, which, though as wild as those men-
tioned above, has perhaps a little more in common with
civilized humanity. They live in the forests, and their
principal occupation is to extract the juice of the palm-
tree, part of which they drink, the rest they sell. The
women climb the trees to obtain it, and they do so in
a surprisingly agile manner. These people always go about
naked. The women only wear a little rag, which flutters
about in the wind and most imperfectly covers that portion
of their bodies which it is supposed to hide. During one
of the expeditions which the last Sultan of Mysore made
into the mountains, he met a horde of these savages, and
was much shocked at their state of nudity ; for, however
depraved Mahomedans may be in their private life, nothing
can equal the decency and modesty of their conduct in
public. They are horrified at word or look that even
verges on indecency or immodesty, especially on the part
of their women. The Sultan therefore caused the head-
men of the Malai-Kondigarus to be brought before him,
and asked them why they and their women did not cover
their bodies more decently. They excused themselves on
the plea of poverty, and that it was the custom of their
caste. Tippu replied that he must require them to wear
clothing like the other inhabitants of the country, and that
if they had not the means wherewith to buy it, he would
every year provide them gratuitously with the cotton cloths
necessary for the purpose. The savages, however, though
urged by the Sultan, made humble remonstrances, and
begged hard to be allowed to dispense with the encum-
brance of clothing. They finally told him that if they
were forced to wear clothing, contrary to the rules of their
caste, they would all leave the country rather than put up
with so great an inconvenience ; they preferred to go and
live in some other distant forest, where they would be
allowed to follow their customs unmolested. The Sultan
was accordingly obliged to give way.
In and around Coorg is another tribe of savages known
by the name of Yeruvaru. It is akin to the Pariah caste,
and is composed of several communities scattered about
in the jungles. These people, however, work for their
THE YERUVARUS 7!)
living, and make themselves useful to the rest of the popula-
tion. They leave their homes to get food from the more
civilized inhabitants of the neighbourhood, who, in return
for a small quantity of rice given as wages, make them
work hard at agricultural pursuits. The indolence of these
savages is such, however, that as long as there is a handful
of rice in their huts they absolutely refuse to work, and
will only return to it when their supply of grain is entirely
exhausted. Nevertheless, the other inhabitants are obliged
to keep on good terms with them, because they perform
all the hardest manual labour, and because if one of them
was affronted or thought himself ill-treated, all the rest of
the clan would take his part, and leave their usual abode
and hide in the forest. The civilized inhabitants, to whom
they are thus indispensable, would not be able to persuade
them to resume their work until they had made friendly
overtures and agreed to pay damages. These wild yet
simple-minded people find it so difficult to procure the bare
necessaries of life that they never even think of small
luxuries which most other Hindus are so fond of, such as
betel, tobacco, oil to anoint their heads, &c. They do not
even appear to envy those who enjoy them, and are satisfied
if they can get a little salt and pepper to flavour the taste-
less vegetables and roots which form the principal part of
their food.
All these wild tribes are gentle and peaceable by nature.
They do not understand the use of weapons of any sort,
and the sight of a stranger is sometimes sufficient to put
to flight a whole community. No doubt the climate in
which they live is in a great measure responsible for their
timid, lazy, and indolent character. They are very unlike
the savages who people the vast forests of America or
Africa, inasmuch as they do not know what war means,
and appear to be quite incapable of returning evil for
evil. For, of course, no sane person believes the accusa-
tion brought against them that they can injure their
neighbours by means of spells and enchantments. Hidden
in thick forests, or in dens and caves in the rocks, they fear
nothing in the world so much as the approach of a civilized
being, and far from envying the happiness which the latter
boasts of having found in the society of his fellow- men,
SO THE REPUTED WEALTH OF INDIA
they shun any intercourse with him, fearing lest he should
try to rob them of their liberty and independence, and lest
they should be condemned to submit to a civilization which
to them is only another term for bondage.
At the same time, these wild tribes of Hindus retain
a few of the prejudices of their fellow-countrymen. For
instance, they are divided into castes, they never eat beef,
they have similar ideas about defilement and purifica-
tion, and they keep the principal regulations relating to
them.
CHAPTER VI
The Poverty of the Hindus.
India has always been considered a most wealthy and
opulent country, more favoured by nature than any other
in the world, a land literally flowing with milk and honey,
where the soil yields all that is necessary for the existence
of its happy people almost without cultivation. The great
wealth accumulated by a few of its native princes, the large
fortunes so rapidly acquired by many Europeans, its
valuable diamond mines, the quality and quantity of its
pearls, the abundance of its spices and scented woods,
the fertility of its soil, and the, at one time, unrivalled
superiority of its various manufactures : all these have
caused admiration and wonder from time immemorial.
One would naturally suppose that a nation which could
supply so many luxuries would surpass all others in wealth.
This estimation of the wealth of India has been com-
monly accepted in Europe up to the present day ; and
those who, after visiting the country and obtaining exact
and authentic information about the real condition of its
inhabitants, have dared to affirm that India is the poorest
and most wretched of all the civilized countries of the
world, have simply not been believed. Many people in
Europe, after reading what various authors have to say
about India's manufactures and about the factories which
turn out the delicate muslins, fine cloths, and beautiful
coloured cottons, &c, which are so much admired all the
world over, have supposed that the establishments pro-
ducing such magnificent stuffs must have supplied models
HINDU WEAVERS 81
for those which are to be found at Manchester, Birmingham,
Lyons, and other cities in Europe. Well, the truth is
(and most people are still unaware of the fact) all these
beautiful fabrics are manufactured in wretched thatched
huts built of mud, twenty to thirty feet long by seven or
eight feet broad. In such a work-room the weaver stretches
his frame, squats on the ground, and quietly plies his
shuttle, surrounded by his family, his cow, and his fowls.
The instruments he makes use of are extremely primitive,
and his whole stock in trade could easily be carried about
by one man. Such is, in very truth, an exact picture of
an Indian factory. As to the manufacturer himself, his
poverty corresponds to the simplicity of his work-shop.
There are in India two or three large classes whose only
profession is that of weaving. The individuals comprising
these classes are, for the most part, very poor, and are
even destitute of the necessary means for working on their
own account. Those who deal in the products of their
industry have to go to them, money in hand, and after
bargaining with them as to the price, quality, and quantity
of the goods required, are obliged to pay them in advance.
The weavers then go and buy the cotton and other neces-
saries with which to begin work. Their employers have to
supervise their work and keep a sharp look-out lest they
decamp with the money, especially if the advances happen
to be in any way considerable.
As regards the condition of the Hindus generally, I think
that the following account may make things plain. It is
based on a long acquaintance with the inhabitants of a large
tract of country. Still, the casual observer may find fault
with it if he judges it by what he has noticed in large towns,
more especially on the coast. There, at least, most of the
natives possess houses of more or less value which they
can dispose of if necessary, an advantage not shared by the
rural classes. Besides, the towns are the rendezvous of
the rich and industrious, and of those who intend to become
so by fair means or foul, so it is not surprising to find
a higher standard of comfort prevailing there. It is from
experience of the masses of the population that I have been
able to present this sketch of the different degrees of poverty
or wealth amongst the people. *~^
\V
82 THE POOREST CLASS OF HINDUS
I should class the inhabitants of the Indian Peninsula in
the following manner. The first and lowest class may be
said to be composed of all those whose property is below
the value of £5 sterling. This class appears to me to com-
prise nine- twentieths, or perhaps even a half, of the entire
population. It includes most of the Pariah class and nearly
all the Chucklers (leather- workers) ; and these together
form at least a quarter of the population. To them must
be added a considerable portion of the Sudras, all the
poorest members of the other castes, and the multitude of
vagrants, beggars, and impostors who are to be met with
everywhere.
Most of the natives of this class hire themselves out as
agricultural labourers, and are required to do the hardest
manual labour for the smallest possible wage. In the
places where they are paid in coin, they receive only just
enough to buy the coarsest of food. Their wage varies
from twelve to twenty rupees a year, according to locality.
They are better paid along the coast. With this amount
they are obliged to feed and clothe themselves. In some
places they are paid half in coin and half in grain, or else
they get their keep, and over and above that receive from
four to eight rupees a year \
Some of the younger members of this class hire them-
selves out without wages, on condition that, after working
faithfully for seven or eight years, their master will provide
them with a wife of their own caste and defray all nuptial
expenses. Married servants who are fed by their masters
carry home their daily rations. This food is supposed to
be sufficient for the wants of one person, or, to quote the
native saying, ' to be enough to fill the belly ' ; but they
have to share it with their wives and children, who also
have to work and thus add to the provision. When they
are in actual want, as often happens, they go and seek for
food in the woods, or on the banks of the rivers and tanks,
where they find leaves, shrubs, roots, and herbs. These
they boil, as often as not without even salt or any kind
of condiment ; and this primitive food forms, for the
1 The scale is higher everywhere nowadays, but so also is the cost of
food-stuffs. Nowhere in India does the common labourer earn much
more than a ' livi^wage.' — Ed.
THEIR CHRONIC INDEBTEDNESS 8.3
greater part of the year, the most substantial part of their
meals. Clumps of bamboo abound in the woods, and its
shoots form, for two or three months of the year, a great
resource to the poor people who live near the places where
it grows.
As soon as the children belonging to the class living in
a state of servitude have reached the age of eight or nine,
they join the same master who employs their father, the
boys looking after the cattle and the girls sweeping out
the byres, collecting the dung, grinding the grain, &c.
The well-to-do cultivators always employ men of this
class ; and, in order to keep them in perpetual bondage,
they lend them money either on the occasion of a marriage
or for other purposes. The poor wretches find themselves,
on account of their small wages, quite unable to pay back
the capital thus advanced, and in many cases even the
interest, which soon exceeds the original loan, and are
therefore reduced to the necessity of working, with their
wives and children, until the end of their days. From the
time this happens their masters look upon them as actual
slaves, and refuse to grant them manumission until they
have repaid both the principal and interest of the sum
which they or their fathers borrowed perhaps twenty or
thirty years before.
Those natives belonging to this class who are in a state
of independence live by various industries. The greater
number are carriers and coolies, or casual agricultural
labourers in receipt of a small daily wage. The last-named
are generally paid in grain, but when they receive money
their wage varies from a penny to twopence a day, accord-
ing to the district. However, they only work in proportion
to their wage, and, whatever the task, a good European
workman would, in most cases, do as much as four natives.
But as the independent labourer is often out of work, and
as the smallness of his wage or his improvidence does not
allow of his putting by anything, his lot is no better, perhaps
even worse, than that of his brother in slavery, and he is
often in absolute want. Most of them have nothing of
their own, or at the best only a wretched hut twelve or
fifteen feet long by five or six broad, and from four to five
feet high, which is full of insects and vermin and exhales
84 SMALLEST CLASS OF AGRICULTURISTS
an awful stench. Into this hovel they, witli their wives
and children, crowd higgledy-piggledy. Their belongings
consist of a few earthen vessels, one or two sickles, and the
rags in which they stand. Those who are a little less
poverty-stricken have a brass lotah for drinking purposes,
and another out of which they eat, a hoe, two or three
sickles, a few silver bracelets, worth three or four rupees,
belonging to the women, and two or three cows \ These
people are agriculturists and farm Government lands, on
which they pay a tax varying from two to twenty-five
shillings.
Such, in truth, is the state of misery in which half the
population of India passes its life 2 .
I place in the second class all those whose property
ranges from £5 to £25 sterling. This class, I should say,
includes about six-twentieths of the entire population and
is composed chiefly of Sudras. Those included in it are
mostly agriculturists on their own account. Their poverty
does not allow of their hiring others to work under them.
They cultivate Government land, and pay a yearly tax of
from one to twenty pagodas, according to the value of the
land. They sometimes require as many as three ploughs.
Their entire property consists of a few cattle, a few small
gold and silver trinkets, one or two copper vessels for
1 Many Hindus own a few oxen and cattle, which are supposed to be
the most valuable part of their property ; in fact their degree of comfort
is judged, more or less, by the number of these valuable animals which
they possess. As soon as a Hindu has acquired a sufficient sum of
money, he spends it as a rule on a pair of draught oxen and a cow. But
the intrinsic value of these animals is small. The country oxen are, as
a rule, stunted, weak, and incapable of enduring much fatigue. Four
or five rupees is their outside value. — Dubois.
2 In this connexion the reader will do well to refer to an excellent
Blue Book entitled, Progress of the Madras Presidency during the Forty
Years from 1853 to 1892, by the late Dewan Bahadur S. Srinivasa
Raghavaiengar, C.I.E., a distinguished Government official, who clearly
proves therein that a very great advance has been made by the country
during the last four decades. Emigration also offers large fields of
profitable employment to the Indian coolie nowadays — Ceylon, the
Straits Settlements, Africa, the West Indies, Mauritius, &c, all com-
peting for his services. The difficulty is to induce him to leave his
miserable home. Those who do emigrate sometimes return with com-
paratively large savings, and become either petty shopkeepers or petty
cultivators. — Ed.
PLEDGING OF CROPS 85
drinking and a few more for eating purposes, and some
iron farm implements. They live in thatched mud huts,
rather more commodious and a little less filthy than those
previously described. Weavers, barbers, washermen, and
other workmen who cater for the wants of the public may
also, for the most part, be included under this head.
The cultivators of this second class, although better off
than those of the first, find it hard to make both ends
meet even in the best seasons. They are obliged to sell at
least half their crop beforehand at low prices, to enable
them to pay their taxes, and the miserly usurers who profit
by their poverty leave them hardly sufficient for the wants
of their family during six or eight months of the year ;
in fact, many of them have only food enough to last four
months. Some never even gather the harvest from the field
they have sown, for as soon as the corn has formed in the
ear they are day by day driven by hunger to cut off some of
the green ears, with which they make a sort of soup. Con-
sequently, by harvest time there is nothing but stubble left
to gather, and to save themselves the trouble of cutting it
they merely turn three or four cows into the field to graze.
If by dint of self-denial they allow their crops to grow up
intact, it is not they who benefit by them, for as soon as
the grain has been threshed the money-lenders step in
and take their due, and afterwards come those who lent
them grain when they had nothing to eat, and demand
payment of the original quantity plus twenty- five per cent,
interest ; that is to say, a man borrowing twenty measures
of corn has to repay twenty-five.
The grain takes about four months to ripen, and this
period is called the time of "prosperity, or sukha kala. It is
about the only season in the year when the poor have
enough of even the coarsest kinds of food, consisting of
various sorts of small pulse, much the same as that which
is used in Europe to fatten pigs and fowls, and in India
to feed horses. Hence the well-known proverb, ' Do not
approach a Pariah during the sukha kala season, nor go
within range of an ox during the Divuligai V This is
1 This feast will be specially mentioned later on. Its celebration takes
place in November, when the country is clothed in verdure. — Dubois.
It is also called Dccpavali and Divali. — Ed.
cSG DEFICIENCY OF FOOD
because both become unmanageable then, from an un-
wonted state of prosperity.
In most provinces those who cultivate rice do not eat it,
hut sell it to pay their taxes. During the four months the
;sole
object seems to be to win a name for lordly extravagance.
Money becomes no object to them, so long as it procures
the gratification of their vanity. Immense- fortunes seldom
survive the second generation, owing i-to.- the manner; in
which the sons foolishly squander the ''wealth laboriously
gained by their fathers. It is not uncoinr^on to rind sons
who have inherited millions from their -father end their
days in beggary.
A native's house is besieged as soon -as he is known to
be a wealthy man, and this not only by/his own relatives,
but also by the indigent of his caste, ajid by ar#tf)rde of
parasites of every description, including poverty-stricken
Brahmins, religious mendicants, ballad-mongers, and low
flatterers, who feed his vanity by writing odes to his honour
and glory, and by lavishing on him praise of the most
fulsome nature. All these dependants stick to the wealthy
native like leeches, fighting with each other as to who
shall carry off the largest share of the prize, and never
releasing their hold on their victim until they have stripped
him of everything.
As to the general condition of the natives now, as com-
pared with what it was thirty years ago, the question arises,
has it improved or has it deteriorated ? I have occasionally
heard this important question discussed amongst thoughtful
and well-informed Europeans, but they could rarely agree
with one another on the subject. Some maintained that
the masses are enjoying greater prosperity than ever they
did before ; others that they have never been in a more
IMPROVEMENT UNDER BRITISH RULE 93
wretched state ; while a few hold that things are prac-
tically where they were before the change of government
took place. But it is evidently absurd to suppose that
a well-meaning, just, and equitable Government, which
has succeeded one that was arbitrary, oppressive, and
tyrannical, has produced no amelioration in the condition
of the people, whatever peculiarities of character and dis-
position the latter may possess, and however great an
obstacle their institutions may be to the philanthropic
endeavours of the new regime to make their lives more
bearable, if not actually happier. This common-sense view
of the case is borne out by my own observations. To me
it seems undeniable that the condition of the people has
improved in many important directions at least, and I have
found that the most sensible natives themselves admit it.
I do not mean to imply that the lowest classes in the land
are better off, for in some provinces close observation will
reveal an increase of misery : but where that is the case,
I attribute it to causes beyond the power of any Govern-
ment to prevent or put an end to ; and further, I think
that, given the same causes, the misery would have been
more acute under the old regime.
Of these causes the chief one is the rapid increase of
the population. Judging by my own personal knowledge
of the poorer Christian populations in Mysore and in the
districts of Baramahl and Coimbatore, I should say that
they have increased by twenty-five per cent, in the last
twenty-five years. During this period Southern India has
been free from the wars and other decimating calamities
which had been dealing havoc almost uninterruptedly for
centuries before.
Some modern political economists have held that a pro-
gressive increase in the population is one of the most
unequivocal signs of a country's prosperity and wealth.
In Europe this argument may be logical enough, but I do
not think that it can be applied to India ; in fact, I am
persuaded that as the population increases, so in proportion
do want and misery. For this theory of the economists to
hold good in all respects the resources and industries of the
inhabitants ought to develop equally rapidly ; but in a
country where the inhabitants are notoriously apathetic
94 INCREASING BIRTH-RATE
and indolent, where customs and institutions are so many
insurmountable barriers against a better order of tilings,
and where it is more or" less a sacred duty to let things
remain as they are, I have every reason to feel convinced
that a considerable increase in the population should be
looked upon as a calamity rather than as a blessing.
It is in the nature of things that, in times of peace and
tranquillity, when the protection of a just Government is
afforded both to person and property, an increase in the
population of India should take place at an alarming rate,
since it is an indisputable fact that no women in the world
are more fruitful than the women of India, and nowhere
else is the propagationof the human race so much encouraged.
In fact, a Hindu only marries to have children, and the
more he has the richer and the happier he feels. All over
India it is enough for a woman to know how to cook, pound
rice, and give birth to children. These three things are
expected of her, especially the last, but nothing more. It
would even appear displeasing if she aspired to anything
else. No Hindu would ever dream of complaining that
his family was too large, however poor he might be, or
however numerous his children. A barren woman is made
to feel that there can be no worse fate, and barrenness
in a wife is the most terrible curse that can possibly fall
on a family.
Another serious cause of the poverty of modern India
is the decrease in the demand for hand labour, resulting
from the introduction of machinery and the spread of
manufactures with improved methods in Europe. Indeed,
Europe no longer depends on India for anything, having
learnt to beat the Hindus on their own ground, even in
their most characteristic industries and manufactures, for
which from time immemorial we were dependent on them.
In fact, the roles have been reversed, and this revolution
threatens to ruin India completely.
Just before returning to Europe I travelled through some
of the manufacturing districts, and nothing could equal the
state of desolation prevailing in them. All the work-rooms
were closed, and hundreds of thousands of the inhabitants,
composing the weaver caste, were dying of hunger ; for
through the prejudices of the country they could not adopt
INTRODUCTION OF MACHINERY 95
another profession without dishonouring themselves. I
found countless widows and other women out of work,
and consequently destitute, who used formerly to maintain
their families by cotton-spinning. Wherever I went the
same melancholy picture confronted me.
This collapse in the cotton industry has indirectly
affected trade in all its branches by stopping the circula-
tion of money, and the cultivators can no longer reckon
on the manufacturers who, in the days of their prosperity,
were wont to buy up their surplus grain, and even to lend
them money when they were in arrears with their taxes.
This has led the cultivators to the hard necessity of relin-
quishing their grain to, and thus becoming the prey of,
remorseless usurers.
Such is the deplorable condition into which the poor
Hindus have sunk ; and it grows worse daily, thanks to
the much- vaunted improvements in machinery which some
nations glory in. Ah ! if only the inventors of these in-
dustrial developments could hear the curses which this
multitude of poor Hindus never tire of heaping upon them !
If only, like me, they had seen the frightful misery which
has overtaken whole provinces, owing entirely to them and
their inventive genius, they would no doubt, unless they
were entirely wanting in human pity, bitterly repent having
carried their pernicious innovations so far, and having
thereby enriched a handful of men at the expense of millions
of poor people, to whom the very name of their com-
petitors has become odious as the sole cause of their utter
destitution !
And let no one venture to assert that the unfortunate
Hindus can, if they choose, find a recompense in the fertility
of their soil. The sight of vast plains lying fallow and
waste may induce the superficial observer to accuse the
natives of indolence or the Government of mismanagement,
but he is not aware that the greater part, if not the whole,
of these vast plains are sterile, bare, and incapable of
cultivation through want of water during most of the year.
In Southern India, at the present time, there are few lands
in the neighbourhood of wells, tanks, and rivers which
are not under cultivation, even on the summits of the
highest hills ; and if by any chance a few fields still lie
96 THE HINDU'S INBRED CONSERVATISM
unreclaimed, it is due to the hopeless sterility of the soil,
which, even in the best seasons, would never repay the
labourer for his trouble, or else because, to yield any profit
at all, they would require more capital and more courage
than most of the people possess.
It is, to my mind, a vain hope to suppose that we can
really very much improve the condition of the Hindus, or
raise their circumstances of life to the level prevailing in
Europe. The efforts of a Government which is humane
and generous, as well as just, may succeed up to a certain
point in lessening some of their hardships ; but as long as
it is in the nature of the Hindus to cling to their civil and
religious institutions, to their old customs and habits, they
must remain what they have always been, for these are so
many insurmountable obstacles in the path of progress
and to the attainment of a new order of things better
calculated to bring them happiness. They will continue
to grovel in poverty as long as their physical and intellectual
faculties continue in the same groove.
Therefore, to make a new race of the Hindus, one would
have to begin by undermining the very foundations of
their civilization, religion, and polity, and by turning
them into atheists and barbarians. Having accomplished
this terrible upheaval, we might then perhaps offer our-
selves to them as lawgivers and religious teachers. But
even then our task would be only half accomplished. After
dragging them out of the depths of barbarism, anarchy,
and atheism into which we had plunged them, and after
giving them new laws, a new polity, and a new religion,
we should still have to give them new natures and different
inclinations. Otherwise we should run the risk of seeing
them soon relapse into their former state, which would be
worse, if anything, than before.
Let our theoretical philanthropists, with their mistaken
and superficial notions concerning the genius and character
of the Hindus and the varied and multitudinous social
links that bind them together, exclaim as much as they
please in their unreflecting enthusiasm, that nothing has
been done for the physical and spiritual improvement of
the race. My reply is, ' Why do you expound your shallow
theories in Europe ? Come and study the question on the
A POLICY OF NON-INTERFERENCE 97
spot. Make personal inquiry into the manners and customs
of the people ; realize for yourselves whether all possible
means have been tried with a view to gaining this desirable
end. And then, but not till then, make up your minds on
the question.'
Since our European ways, manners, and customs, so
utterly different from theirs, do not allow of our winning
their confidence, at least let us continue to earn their
respect and admiration by humane examples of compas-
sion, generosity, and well-doing. Let us leave them their
cherished laws and prejudices, since no human effort will
persuade them to give them up, even in their own interests,
and let us not risk making the gentlest and most sub-
missive people in the world furious and indomitable by
thwarting them. Let us take care lest we bring about, by
some hasty or imprudent course of action, catastrophes
which would reduce the country to a state of anarchy,
desolation, and ultimate ruin, for, in my humble opinion,
the day when the Government attempts to interfere with
any of the more important religious and civil usages of
the Hindus will be the last of its existence as a political
power.
CHAPTEE VII
The Mythical Origin of the Brahmins. — Their Name and their Original
Founders. — Conjectures on their True Origin. — Buddhists and
Jains.
The real origin of the Brahmins is wrapped in mystery,
and one can only hazard conjectures on the subject, or put
belief in myths. The story most generally accepted says
that they were born from Brahma's head, which accounts
for their name. One would suppose that as all castes
were born from this same father they would be privileged to
bear the same name ; but as the Brahmins were the first-
born, and issued from the noblest part of the common
parent, they claimed special privileges from which all
others were rigorously excluded. They have another
theory to bear out the accepted belief that no one else
is entitled to the illustrious name of Brahmin. They say
that no one knows anything about Brahma's attributes
98 THE SEVEN PENITENTS
and virtues beyond what they themselves choose to teach
mankind, and that this knowledge in itself gives them the
right to bear his name. Anyhow, their name is undoubtedly
derived from Brahma's. The old writers call them ' Brah-
manahas,' or ' Brahmahas,' which some of the Latin
authors turned into ' Brachmanes.' The great difference
between their caste and all others is that a Brahmin only
becomes a Brahmin after the ceremony of the triple cord,
which will be described hereafter. Until this essential
ceremony has been performed he ranks only as a Sudra.
By mere birth he is no different from the rest of his race ;
and it is for this reason that he is called Dvija (Bis genitus,
or Twice-born). His first birth only gives him his man-
hood, whereas the second raises him to the exalted rank
of Brahmin, and this by means of the ceremony of the
triple cord. Indeed, two out of the seven famous Peni-
tents, who are supposed to have been the original founders
of the various sects of Brahmins of the present day, did
not originally belong to this caste at all ; but by reason of
the length and austerity of their term of penance, they
were rewarded by having their state of penitent Kshatriyas
changed to that of penitent Brahmins by the investiture
of the triple cord. These seven Penitents, or Rishis, or
Munis, of Hindu history (I shall often refer to them in the
pages of the present work) are the most celebrated per-
sonages recognized by the people of India. Their names
are Kasyapa, Atri, Bharadwaja, Gautama, Viswamitra,
Jamadagni, and Vasishta. The last-named and Viswa-
mitra are those who were considered worthy of being
admitted into the high caste of Brahmins. These far-
famed Rishis must be of great antiquity, for they existed
even before the Vedas, which allude to them in several
places. They were the favoured of the gods, and more
especially of Vishnu, who at the time of the Deluge made
them embark on a vessel which he piloted, and thereby
saved them from destruction. Even the gods were called
to account for having offended these holy men, who did
not hesitate to curse the deities who committed infamies.
The seven Penitents, after setting a virtuous example
on earth, were finally translated to heaven, where they
occupy a place amongst the most brilliant constellations.
BRAHMIN ORIGINS 99
They are to be recognized in the seven stars that form the
Great Bear, which, according to Hindu tradition, are
neither more nor less than the seven famous Rishis them-
selves. They are, according to Hindu legend, the ancestors
of the Brahmins in reality and not by metamorphosis, and
it is believed that without ceasing to shine in the firmament
they can, and occasionally do, revisit the earth to find out
what is occurring there.
Are there any families in Europe which can, notwith-
standing the mythical origins which heraldic science pro-
fesses to discover, pride themselves on the possession of
such ancestors '? And seeing that in our own aristocracy
a man with a noble lineage is not above assuming an air
of extreme hauteur and exclusiveness, we ought not to be
surprised at a Brahmin's vanity or at the contempt with
which he treats any one belonging to an inferior caste.
This idea of handing down to posterity the names of their
great men by immortalizing them, and assigning to them
a place among the constellations, appears to have been an
almost universal practice amongst ancient races.
Astronomy has played an important part in the history
of almost all idolatrous nations ; and of all false creeds it
certainly is the least unreasonable, and has survived the
longest. The religious and political lawgivers of these
races were clever enough to perceive that the worship of
the stars had taken a great hold upon mankind, and that
the simplest and most effectual way of perpetuating the
memory of their heroes would be to transform them into
outward objects that were always before the eyes of the
people. It was thus that the Greeks and Romans con-
secrated the memory of their divinities and demi-gods ;
and no doubt the Hindu lawgivers were prompted to
immortalize their seven Rishis by means of the brightest
stars in the sky because they realized that a Hindu imagina-
tion is only appealed to through the visible, and therefore
that was the best way to perpetuate the veneration due to
these illustrious beings. But whatever may have been the
claims of Brahmins to a celestial origin, it is a well-authen-
ticated fact that neither their caste nor any other existed
in the countries to the north-east of Bengal four or five
centuries ago. About that time the inhabitants of those
100 EARLY COLONIZATION OF INDIA
parts, thinking that it might be to their advantage to adopt
the customs of their neighbours, began to clamour for
Brahmins. Accordingly, some were made to order out of
the youths of the country, who, after conforming to the
customs and rites of the Brahmins, were incorporated into
their caste by the investiture of the triple cord. The
descendants of these ready-made Brahmins have ever since
been considered on an equality with the rest. The southern
Brahmins do not care to be reminded of the fact ; yet they
are obliged to admit it, as well as that two of the Rishis
were originally Kshatriyas. An objection which people
often put to them is that if nothing but the investiture of
the triple cord can make Brahmins of them, then their
wives, who do not go through the ceremony, really belong
to the Sudras ; and this means that all Brahmins are obliged
to marry out of their caste and by so doing violate their
most sacred principles. The reply they invariably make
to this, as to other embarrassing questions, is that they
are but following time-honoured customs and institu-
tions.
One is certainly justified in expressing doubt on the
subject of the Brahmins' origin, but I, for one, should be
sorry to oppose my conjectures to their absurd fables.
Far be it from me to start any theories. My only desire
is to collect materials which may help those who are trying
to lift the veil which shrouds from view the cradle of the
universe. It is practically admitted that India was in-
habited very soon after the Deluge, which made a desert
of the whole world. The fact that it was so close to the
plains of Sennaar, where Noah's descendants remained
stationary so long, as well as its good climate and the
fertility of the country, soon led to its settlement. I will
say nothing of the conquests of Hercules, Bacchus, and
Osiris, as most learned men look upon them as fabulous
beings, and those who admit an element of truth in the
tales carefully denude them of all the extravagant details
which tradition assigns to them *. The history of Sesostris,
although equally full of impossibilities, has something more
truthful and authenticated about it. The few ancient
monuments which have been preserved make him out to
1 See Plutarch's Isis and Osiris, chap. xxxv.
SUPPOSED ARABIAN SETTLEMENTS 101
have been the bravest, not to say the only, warrior that
peaceful Egypt had to boast of for a period of more than
sixteen centuries, and they also lead one to believe that
he was the greatest of all conquerors, with an empire
extending from the Danube to the Ganges. But his Indian
conquests were as temporary and unstable as those of his
illustrious rival Alexander the Great much later on in the
world's history.
As to the settlements that the Arabs are supposed to
have made in India, according to some authors, I think
only superficial students will be found ready to believe in
them. The fact that they are nomads, who have always
lived a wandering life within reach of India, gives some
appearance of reality to the theory. Some indeed believe
that the caste system was borrowed from them, since it
still exists in Arabia ; but, as a matter of fact, it is a custom
common to all the ancient races of the earth.
I do not trace the origin of the Brahmins either to
Egypt or to Arabia, and I believe them to be the descen-
dants not of Shem, as many argue, but of Japheth. Accord-
ing to my theory they reached India from the north, and
I should place the first abode of their ancestors in the
neighbourhood of the Caucasus.
Two famous mountains situated in Northern India,
known as Great Meru (Maha-Meru) and Mount Mandara
(Mandara Parvata), are frequently mentioned in their old
books and in their prayers, liturgies, and civil and religious
ceremonies. These mountains, which I believe to be one
and the same under slightly different names, are so far
away that their precise whereabouts is unknown to the
Brahmins of to-day \ And this is not surprising in a
country where geographical science is confined to know-
ledge of the places situated between Benares and Cape
Comorin. The Hindus themselves claim to be descended
from the inhabitants of these distant northern regions,
and they believe that it was there that the seven illus-
trious ancestors of the Brahmins were born, whose descen-
1 There can be no doubt that these mountains, and others mentioned
as lying around them, belong to the great ranges of Central Asia, from
which flow the great rivers that water Siberia, China, Tartary, and
Hindustan. — Ed.
102 THE SEVEN SONS OF JAPHETH
dants have spread little by little throughout the length and
breadth of the land. This opinion of the Hindus as to tli a spontaneous mark of deference and respect.* — El>.
H 3
202 DUBOIS AS A GURU
a Feringhi guru, I was also the priest of all those castes of
natives who had embraced the religion of Sarveswara \
that I adhered strictly to all the Brahmin rules, made
frequent ablutions, just as they did, abstained from meat
and all intoxicating drinks, &c, &c.
These last assertions were pure falsehoods, which, on my
honour, I had never sanctioned ; but all the same they
were made and repeated unknown to me, whenever my
followers thought it to their interest or mine. Neverthe-
less, in spite of the greatest attention and circumspection
on my part to avoid giving offence to my hosts, I occasion-
ally found myself involved in a difficulty without its being
in the least my fault. Here is a curious case in point.
Travelling in South Mysore, I arrived one evening at
a village where I was obliged to pass the night. As there
was no public lodging in the place, my people asked the
village headman to provide some shelter. The headman
was a Brahmin, and at first made some difficulties ; but to
gain his help my people told the usual falsehoods about
myself. The Brahmin, before making any promise, came
to the place where I was waiting, and after gazing at me
from head to foot silently and attentively, asked me simply
if I was accompanied by any Pariahs or dogs (for these
both occupied the same level in his opinion). I told him
that I allowed neither Pariahs nor dogs near me, and that
all my followers were men of good caste. After a few
moments' reflection, during which he fixed his eyes with
evident predilection on my beard and my native costume,
he said to me : ' You are a European, but out of respect
for your dignity as guru, and in consideration of what your
people tell me with regard to your strict conformity to the
customs of the country, I will give you lodging in my own
house. Take off your shoes and follow me.' I entered
his house with my followers, and installed myself in a tidy
part of the house which he assigned to me. Shortly after-
wards my host, hearing me cough, ran to me in great
haste, and with a very serious air expressed the hope
1 A word which Native Christians employ to express God. It means
literally, ' the Ruler of all things ' (the Lord of all). Protestant mis-
sionaries have objected to the use of the word, because it is one of the
titles of the god Siva. — Dubois.
A FALSE ACCUSATION 203
that I would not defile the house by spitting in it. I did
my best to calm his fears, assuring him that he had no
reason to fear my transgressing any of the strict rules of
Hindu custom. Despite my assurances, however, I noticed
that he charged one of his sons to keep watch over me.
Another spy was charged with observing the conduct of
my servants. At sundown one of these latter left the
village to answer a call of nature. Hardly had he returned
when the person watching my servants, having seen him
in the distance, ran to tell his master that his house had
been polluted, that he had admitted into it people of low
habits, for had he not seen with his own eyes one of my
servants return from answering a call of nature without
having washed himself and enter the house in this horrible
state of defilement 1 On this my host rose in great wrath,
and with gestures and looks of anger repeated to me what
he had been told, ending by exclaiming : ' Is any sin equal
to this ! Behold the kind of gratitude which I ought to
have foreseen in offering you hospitality. I had a pre-
sentiment that my good- nature would bring me trouble.
To do such a thing without washing afterwards ! What
a crime ! What a scandal ! What an infamy ! What
shame for my house ! . . . You must punish severely the
low person who has so horribly defiled my house. You
shall pay me all the cost of purification ! And depart,
quit my house at once ! '
I let him vent his choler without interrupting him, and
when he had ceased I answered him calmly that, if his
complaints were well founded, reparation should be made
him. But first of all he must prove that the offence had
really been committed. My servant denied it strenuously,
and indignantly demanded on his own part that his accuser
should be punished. He had, he asserted, simply stooped
down to answer a call of nature different from that alleged.
His accuser nevertheless stuck to his assertion with horrible
oaths. The Brahmin, believing him rather than my ser-
vant, insisted on my leaving the house. Thereupon, in
a firm tone, I declared that I would neither punish my
servant nor pay compensation for an injury which had not
been proved. As to the order which he had given that
I should leave his house, it was, I told him, an unreason-
204 A MIDNIGHT FLIGHT
able violation of the laws of hospitality. 1 was ready to
obey it, seeing that he was master of his own house, but he
was also headman of the village, and he was therefore
bound to find me another lodging for the night.
The Brahmin went out repeating his complaints for the
hundredth time. Shortly afterwards he returned with a
number of the villagers, who were even louder than him-
self in their protestations. They demanded that my servant
should be delivered up to them for severe punishment, and
that I should pay compensation, repeatedly exclaiming :
' What shame ! What wickedness ! Wliat abomination ! '
My servant, fearing the consequences that might ensue,
racked his brains for some way of proving his innocence.
At last he found one which would have been conclusive
before less prejudiced judges. ' If I am guilty of what
you say,' he exclaimed, ' let two of you come away with
me and examine my person.' The Brahmin, anxious to
prove him guilty, refused on unreasonable grounds to sanc-
tion such an unanswerable argument. Finally, after a long
and useless discussion, we decided to adjourn the dispute
until the morning. I left the Brahmin's house, and went
and lodged, together with my people, in a cowshed outside
the village, in which I was allowed as a great favour to
pass the night. My people, even more alarmed than
myself, left the cowshed to see what was happening in
the village, and came and reported to me that a great
disturbance was taking place : that everybody was talking
about the incident ; that everywhere punishment and com-
pensation were demanded, and that if we stayed there until
the morning my servant would run the risk of being severely
beaten. To save myself such a vexation I was quite ready
to sacrifice a few rupees, though I would never have con-
sented to have my poor servant exposed to maltreatment
for such an offence, whether guilty or not. Consequently
I thought the most prudent thing to do was to flee. At
one o'clock at night, when the cowherd was sleeping peace-
fully in a corner of the shed, we left quietly. I mounted
my horse and we decamped in all haste. Before sunrise
we had passed the borders of the district where this un-
fortunate occurrence took place, and were therefore out
of danger.
205
CHAPTER VI
Marriage amongst Brahmins and other Hindus.— Celibacy. — Those who
may remain unmarried.— Polygamy tolerated only amongst the
Upper Classes.— The two Sexes nearly equal in numbers.— Indis-
solubility of the Marriage Tie.— How Marriages are arranged.—
Preparatory Ceremonies. — Solemn Ceremonies for the first and
following Days. — Marriage amongst Sudras. — Marriage amongst
Kshatriyas.— Duties after Marriage.
To a Hindu marriage is the most important and most
engrossing event of his life ; it is a subject of endless
conversation and of the most prolonged preparations. An
unmarried man is looked upon as having no social status
and as being an almost useless member of society. He is
not consulted on any important subject, and no work of
any consequence may be given to him. A Hindu who
becomes a widower finds himself in almost the same position
as a bachelor, and speedily remarries.
Though marriage is considered the natural state for the
generality of men, those who from pious motives remain
unmarried are looked up to and treated with the utmost
respect. But it is only those persons who have renounced
the world, and have chosen to lead a life of contemplation,
who can take vows of celibacy. In any other case marriage
is the rule, and every one is under the obligation of dis-
charging the great debt to his ancestors, namely, that of
begetting a son \ No doubt it will be asked whether the
Hindu devotees who take vows of celibacy do really remain
as chaste as they are supposed to be. I should say without
hesitation, No. Many have concubines under various pre-
texts, and many give themselves up in secret to vices
which would disgust the most shameless libertine. Amongst
this latter class are the greater number of the gurus and
sannyasis, who wander about the country and live on the
credulity of the public. Others shut themselves up in
seclusion and lead idle and easy-going lives, their sole
occupation being to receive the abundant offerings flowing
in from the ignorant and foolish who believe in the false
1 The Sanskrit word for son, putra, means literally, ' one who saves
from put or hell ' — the hell into which parents without sons fall. — Ed.
200 RELIGIOUS CELIBATES
reputation for holiness which such people have acquired.
But persons of sense are not taken in by their hypocrisy,
and it is fairly notorious that these knaves, in the seclusion
of their retreats, give themselves up to the grossest im-
moralities.
It must not be supposed, however, that I am accusing
all unmarried Hindus without exception of leading dissolute
lives. On the contrary, I have been credibly informed by
those whose word may be relied on, and who know what
they are talking about, that some few may be found who
deny themselves all intercourse with women ; but, on the
other hand, one is led to believe that they allow themselves
other infamous pleasures of such an abominable character
that delicacy forbids one to accept the accusation except
under strong proof ; so I prefer to think that there are a
few unmarried Hindus who are able to resist all sensual
pleasures.
And why, after all, should one refuse to believe that
some of these sannyasis or penitents are able to exercise
such self-control, however difficult it may be to subdue
one's passions in a country where the warm climate and
the corrupt state of morality continually serve to arouse
them ' ? Do not these men, either from ostentation or
from fanaticism, subject their bodies to the most cruel
ordeals ? And the harsh, self-inflicted tapasas, or penances,
do they not prove, as far as one can see, their wish and
intention to subdue their sinful lusts ? All the same, in
spite of their hypocritical affectations of piety, the greater
number of these sannyasis are looked upon as utter im-
postors, and that by the most enlightened of their fellow-
countrymen.
But this privilege which men possess of remaining single,
and giving themselves up to a life of contemplation, is not
shared by women, They at all events cannot, under any
circumstances, take vows of celibacy. Subjected on all
1 Montesquieu says that our natural human tendency is to prefer in
the cause of religion anything that presupposes effort. So in the matter
of morality, we incline theoretically to anything that bears the impress
of asceticism. Celibacy, for instance, has taken the greatest hold on
those to whom it seems most unsuited, and on whom it might have the
most disastrous results (Esprit des Lois, xxv. 4). — Abbe Dubois.
POLYGAMY UOTJSUAL 207
sides to the moral ascendency of man, the very idea that
they could possibly place themselves in a state of indepen-
dence and out of men's power is not allowed to cross their
minds. The opinion is firmly established throughout the
whole of India, that women were only created for the
propagation of the species, and to satisfy men's desires.
All women therefore are obliged to marry, and marriages
are carefully arranged before they arrive at a marriage-
able age. If by that time they have not found a husband,
they very rarely keep their innocence much longer. Ex-
perience has taught that young Hindu women do not
possess sufficient firmness, and sufficient regard for their
own honour, to resist the ardent solicitations of a seducer.
Therefore measures cannot be taken too early to place them
intact in their husbands' hands. Those who are unable
to enter into any lawful union form a connexion as con-
cubines with any man who cares to receive them as such.
Polygamy is tolerated amongst persons of high rank,
such as rajahs, princes, statesmen, and others. Kings are
allowed five legitimate wives, but never more. None the
less this plurality of wives amongst the great is looked
upon as an infraction of law and custom, in fact, as an
abuse. But in every country in the world those in power
have always been able to twist the law in their own favour,
however definitely it may be laid down. The principal
Hindu gods had only one wife. Brahma had only Saras-
vati ; Vishnu, Lakshmi ; and Siva, Parvati. It is quite
true that under their different forms these venerable per-
sonages committed frequent breaches of their marriage
vow ; but this only serves to prove that from the earliest
times marriage was looked upon by the Hindus as a legal
union between two persons of opposite sexes.
If in the present day any person of inferior rank cohabits
with several women, one only of them bears the name and
title of wife; the others are merely concubines. In several
castes the children of the latter are illegitimate, and if the
father dies without having previously settled some of his
property upon them, they have no share when it comes to
be divided. I only know of one case in which a man can
legally marry a second wife, his first being still alive ;
and that is when, after he has lived for a long time witli
208 ALLEGED EXCESS OF FEMALES
his wife, she is certified to be barren, or if she has only
borne female children ; for in the latter case the debt to
one's ancestors — that is to say, the birth of a son — is con-
sidered to have been imperfectly paid. But even in this
case, before a man contracts a second marriage it is neces-
sary that he should obtain the consent of the first ; and
she is always regarded as the chief wife and retains all her
prerogatives.
It may be remembered that for the same reason Abraham
took Hagar to be his wife during the lifetime and with the
consent of Sarah, his lawful wife. One may also remember
what dissensions arose in the family of the holy patriarch
as the result of this marriage with two women. It is
exactly the same in Hindu families where there are two
legal wives. Consequently the majority of Hindu husbands
prefer, under such circumstances, to give up the hope of
having a son, rather than be subjected to the numberless
troubles which are the invariable result of the remedy
permitted by law.
Some modern writers have hazarded the theory that in
hot countries the number of women greatly exceeds that of
men. It is Bruce, I think, who first advanced this opinion
in his account of his travels in Arabia and Abyssinia.
Even before my own experience had led me to a totally
different conclusion on this point, it had always appeared to
me that his deductions were wrong, or at any rate doubtful.
If my memory does not deceive me, this author tried to
prove the numerical excess of the female sex from the fact
that in the families of some Arab princes, amongst a large
number of children hardly one-sixth were males ; and from
this particular instance he drew a general conclusion. It
is evident that the calculation is fundamentally wrong.
To obtain a sound basis on which to found such a conclu-
sion, a census must be taken of a large number of families
of all classes, and upon that alone can such a rule of pro-
portion be drawn. The proportion of births in the harems
of a few Eastern princes, with many wives, cannot furnish
any standard from which to determine what takes place
amongst the people themselves, where conjugal union is
restricted to what it ought to be according to the laws of
healthy morality and true civilization.
A DOUBTFUL HYPOTHESIS 209
Some sceptics, however, turning this pretended discovery
of Bruce to account, have drawn from it what they consider
an incontrovertible argument to prove that religion is
merely a question of geography, and that Christianity
cannot be suitable for all countries and all nations ; for
marriage being the natural state of all human beings,
a religion that forbids polygamy would in hot countries
reduce more than half of one sex to a state of enforced
celibacy. But supposing the hypothesis on which this
objection to the universality of Christianity is based to
be as true as I believe it to be false, it seems to me that
it would prove the existence of little or nothing contrary
to Divine Providence, who in giving us the inestimable
benefit of divine revelation, as manifested by the teaching
of an Incarnate God, appears to have designed that this
precious gift of Christianity should be shared by all the
inhabitants of the terrestrial globe. It seems to me that,
for this objection to have any weight, it is necessary to
prove that amongst the whole of the human race, taken
collectively, there is a much larger number of the female
than of the male sex ; for it is upon the whole human race,
taken collectively, that the Creator looks as on one large
family. In each individual member of this family He sees
only the being created in His own image, without dis-
tinction of country, colour, language, or bodily form ; and
His intention was that all men should form one common
brotherhood, united by all the ties of a common nature
and common origin.
At the same time I have reason to believe, from my
own personal observation, that the view is utterly wrong
which holds that in hot climates the number of women far
exceeds that of the men. For many years I exercised my
religious calling in many parts of the Indian Peninsula, and
I paid particular attention to the point in question. From
exact registers which I kept of all baptisms, it may be seen
that I yearly administered this sacrament to two or three
hundred children of all castes ; and I have been able to
prove that during any single year the preponderance in
births of one sex over the other never exceeded fifteen to
twenty-five, and that it was sometimes one and sometimes
the other sex which predominated within these narrow
21() THE SEX1S EQUALLY PROPORTIONED
limits. These registers, which extended over a period of
more than twenty-five years, are no longer within my
reach ; but I am convinced that out of perhaps G,000
children baptized by me, one sex did not outnumber the
other by more than 200. Another convincing proof that
the proportion of the two sexes is about equal in India, is
furnished by the Brahmins, who can only have one legiti-
mate wife, and for whom marriage is obligatory. One
hardly ever meets with a woman who is not, or has not
been, married. Blind, dumb, deaf, or lame, all find hus-
bands amongst poor Brahmins, whose low fortunes do not
allow them to aspire to an alliance with any more attractive
spouse.
It may, it is true, be retorted that amongst Brahmins
a widow cannot remarry, whereas a widower may at once
take to himself another wife. The consequence is, it may
be urged, that the women of this caste must be more
numerous than the men. But I reply that the age at which
the two sexes marry compensates for this difference. Girls
are married when seven or even five years old, whilst boys
wait till they are sixteen, twenty, or even older. I am
therefore decidedly of opinion that in hot as well as in
temperate climates the births of the two sexes are nearly
equal ; and that polygamy is opposed to all laws, both
natural and divine 1 .
This unnatural custom of polygamy, which finds a place
amongst some nations, may be attributed to sinful lust,
to abuse of the power of the strong over the weak, and to
the dominion of the one sex over the other. It is evidently
altogether contrary to the intention of the Creator, who,
when He created the father of mankind, gave him only
1 According to the Census Report of 1891, to every 1,000 males there
are returned only 958 females ; and the tables show that there are in
the country fewer females than males to the number of, speaking roundly,
6} millions. The deficiency is greatest in the Punjab, N.W. Provinces,
and Rajputana. In Bengal, Madras, and Upper Burma, however,
females are in excess to the extent of something under three-quarters
of a million. The conclusion arrived at with regard to the deficiency of
females is that it is to a large extent due to deliberate concealment and
deliberate omission from the Census returns. But the Report remarks :
' The subject of sex is a very intricate one, and the more one studies it
the less inclined is a cautious statist to adopt any single explanation.'
The Report examines the whole question at considerable length. — Ed.
THE MARRIAGE TIE INDISSOLUBLE 211
one woman to wife, and indeed ordained that man and his
one companion should form but one flesh \
A celebrated statesman of the last century (Burke),
speaking on this subject from a political point of view, said
that the Christian religion, by bringing marriage back to
its primitive and only legitimate state, had contributed
more by that alone to the general peace, happiness, stability,
and civilization of the human race, than it would have been
possible for it to do in any other department of divine
providence.
The indissolubility of the marriage tie is also an essential
principle which it seems to me is not less firmly established
amongst the Hindus than that which limits this important
act to the legal union of one man with one woman. A
Hindu can only put away his legitimate wife for one cause,
and that is adultery. If this rule is violated, it is only
among the most degraded of the lower castes. A marriage
can also be annulled if it has been contracted in violation
of the prohibitory degrees which are laid down by custom,
and which of themselves are sufficient to nullify the union.
I have never yet heard of a divorce being permitted on
account of incompatibility of temper, nor have I ever
heard of a man being allowed to put away his wife, how-
ever vicious she might be, simply in order to marry another
woman. Hindus, as I shall presently show, put too serious
a value on this solemn contract to allow it to be thus
degraded to a state which would be nothing more or less
than concubinage. A Hindu, and especially a Brahmin,
would hardly be inclined to repudiate his wife even for
adultery, unless her guilt were very notorious. As a general
rule, when the wife of a Brahmin gives occasion, by in-
judicious behaviour, for remarks of a kind damaging to
her character, her friends and relatives do their utmost
to excuse her conduct and to hush up all scandal about
her, so as to avoid the necessity of such an extreme measure
as a divorce, the disgrace of which would reflect on the
whole caste.
I will now give a detailed account of the principal cere-
monies which take place both before and at the time of
a wedding.
1 Genesis ii. 24.
212 INFANT MARRIAGES
A young Brahmin should, ordinarily speaking, be married
when he is about sixteen years of age, but the ceremony is
often postponed till he is older than this. The wife chosen
for him is generally five, seven, or at the utmost nine
years old \
This custom of marrying girls in their early childhood,
and as soon as possible, though common to all castes, is
most strictly observed by the Brahmins. When once a
girl has passed the marriageable age, it is very difficult
for her to find a husband. In this caste there is often an
enormous difference in age between the husband and the
wife. It is no uncommon thing to see an old man of sixty
or more, having lost his first wife, marry for the second
time a little child five or six years old, and even prefer
her to girls of mature age. What is the result of this ?
The husband generally dies long before his wife, and often
even before she has attained the age which would allow
him to exercise his rights as a husband. So the poor girl
becomes a widow before she has even become a wife, and
as by the custom of her caste she may not marry again,
she is oftentimes tempted to lead a dissolute life, thereby
reflecting discredit on the whole caste. Everybody recog-
nizes these abuses, but the idea of remedying them, by
allowing a young widow to break through the stern rule
of custom and marry again, would never even enter the
head of a Hindu, more especially of a Brahmin 2 . It is
true that the strange preference which Brahmins have for
children of very tender years would make such a permis-
sion almost nominal in the case of their widows 3 .
1 The Jews also married their children at an early age. A youth
who was not married before he was eighteen was considered by them
to be sinning against the command of the Creator, which says : ' In-
crease and multiply.' He was free to marry as soon as he had attained
the age of thirteen. Their daughters were betrothed in childhood, and
were married as soon as they had arrived at a suitable age, which was
usually fixed by them at twelve. — Dubois.
- Hindu social reformers are now agitating for virgin-widow re-
marriages, and in a few instances such marriages have been brought
about. — Ed.
3 Amongst the Jews it was permissible for widows to marry again ; but
those who voluntarily, out of respect and affection for their dead husbands,
refrained from marrying again, were looked up to with very great respect.
— Dubois.
SERVINC4 TIME FOR A WIFE 213
The expenses of a wedding are so considerable that in
all castes one often sees young men, who are without the
necessary means, using the same expedient to procure a
wife that Jacob employed with Laban. Just like the holy
patriarch a Hindu without means will enter the service of
one of his relations, or of some other person of the same
caste who has daughters to marry, and will engage himself
to serve for a certain number of years without wage, on
condition that, at the end of that time, he is to receive
one of the daughters in marriage. When the time agreed
upon has expired the father fulfils his promise, undertakes
the whole expense of the marriage, and then allows the
young couple to go away and live where they please. At
their departure he gives them a cow, a pair of oxen, two
copper vessels (one for drinking, the other for their food),
and enough rice to feed them for the first year of their
married life. It is very remarkable that in India the term
which a man has to serve for his wife is the same as that
for which Jacob bound himself to Laban, namely seven
years (Genesis xxix. 20) 1 .
The inclinations of the persons about to be married are
never consulted. In fact, it would be ridiculous to do so
amongst the Brahmins, seeing the age at which they marry
their daughters. But even the Sudras, who often do not
marry their, daughters until they have attained full age,
would never dream of consulting the tastes and feelings of
their children under these circumstances. The choice is
left entirely to the parents. That which chiefly con-
cerns the young man's family is the purity of the caste
of his future wife. Beauty and personal attractions of
any kind count for nothing in their eyes. The girl's
parents look more particularly to the fortune of their
future son-in-law, and to the character of his mother, who
after the marriage becomes the absolute mistress of the
young wife 2 .
The same months are chosen for a wedding as are selected
for the ceremony of the uyanayana, that is to say, the
1 No such custom exists now. — Ed.
2 A Sanskrit verse, commonly quoted, says : ' The girl courts beauty ;
the mother, riches ; the father, knowledge ; relatives, good lineage ;
other people, sumptuous marriage-feasts.' — Ed.
2H ARRANGING MARRIAGE PRELIMINARIES
months of March, April, May, and June, and especially the
two last l .
However, it is possible in a case of urgency for a marriage
to take place in November or February. But in both
these months there are so many precautions to be observed,
so many calculations to be made according to the signs of
the Zodiac, the phase of the moon, and other ridiculous
follies, that it is far from easy to find a day on which all
the auspices are propitious.
There are four different ways of arranging the prelimi-
naries of a marriage. The first, the most honoured and
respected of all, is for the father of the bride not only to
refuse to receive the sum of money to which he is entitled
from the young man's parents, but to undertake to bear
all the expenses of the ceremony, to purchase all the jewels
and other ornaments which it is customary to give a girl
on this occasion, and also to make handsome presents to
the son-in-law and his parents. But this can only be done
by the rich and people of high position.
The second way is for the parents of both the contract-
ing parties to agree to share all the expenses. The third
method is that usually adopted by people of all castes who
are not rich. The parents of the girl insist not only on the
youth's parents bearing all the expenses of the wedding
and of the jewels, but they also exact payment of a sum
of money in return for their daughter, the amount of which
is laid down by caste custom. This method is the commonest
of all ; for to marry and to buy a wife are synonymous
expressions in India. Most parents make a regular traffic
of their daughters. The wife is never given up to her
husband until he has paid the whole of the sum agreed
upon 2 . This custom is an endless source of quarrels and
1 It is probable that the original reason why the Hindus selected these
four months as the most auspicious for marriages, is that during these
months all agricultural work is either finished or suspended on account
of the great heat,and also because thecrops, which have just been gathered
in, help to defray the expenses of the wedding. — Dubois.
2 It was the custom also among the Jews for the husband to give the
wife her dower. Genesis xxxiv. 8, 9, &c, xxxi. 15 ; 1 Samuel xviii. 2o ;
liusea iii. 2. — Dubois.
This is not true in the majority of instances, though there may be
extreme cases of the kind. The following words were uttered recently
PAYMENT TO A FATHER-IN-LAW 215
disputes. If a poor man, after the marriage has taken
place, cannot pay the stipulated amount, his father-in-law
sues him for it, and takes his daughter away hoping that
the desire to have her back again will induce the man to
find the money. Sometimes this succeeds, but it pretty
often happens that the son-in-law, being always unable to
pay the debt, leaves his wife for years as a pledge with his
father-in-law, and at last the latter, convinced that by this
means he will get nothing, and fearing lest his daughter
should succumb to the temptations to which her youth
exposes her, withdraws his demands. A compromise is
effected and the husband at length regains his wife l .
The fourth method, to which none but the very poorest
have recourse, is very mortifying to the girl's parents, for
they go themselves and hand her over to the tender mercies
of the young man's parents, leaving it to them to do what
they will with her, to marry her when and how they like,
to spend as little or as much as they choose on the wedding,
and begging them at the same time to pay them something
for their daughter.
As soon as the parents have discovered a suitable girl,
and have ascertained if the family are likely to assent,
they choose a day when all the auguries are favourable,
and go to formally ask for her. They provide themselves
with a new cloth, such as is worn by women, a cocoanut,
by one of the speakers at an annual conference of the Kistna District
Association : ' Gentlemen ! The monstrous custom of selling girls needs
no words of mine to make you try to root it out from our society. I will
give you one particular case which will show you the advisability of
taking proper steps to remove the evil. A certain gentleman, in a certain
village, married his daughter, ten years old, to an old man of eighty-one,
and received Rs. 2,000 for the bargain. In due course the girl matured,
and the nuptial ceremony was performed. The girl was sent to her
hated husband, much against her will. She escaped from the room in
the dead of night and threw herself into a well. When the old man
awoke in the morning he missed his young wife, and, on search being
made, her dead body was found floating in a well. There are several
instances of this sort. In some cases, if the ill-assorted pair be seen
together, the bride will appear as a daughter, or even a grand-daughter.
The young brides become widows even in a week after their marriages.
These evils are too apparent to me, and I think you will enthusiastically
carry this resolution.' — Ed.
1 I do not believe that any Hindu father of respectability would take
such a step. — Ed.
216 RELIANCE ON OMENS
five bananas, some vermilion, and some powdered sandal-
wood. While on the way, they pay great attention to any
omens that they may notice. If they consider them to be
unfavourable they retrace their steps, and postpone the
business till another day. Thus, for instance, if a snake
cross their path, or a cat, or a jackal, or if they should
happen to see anything that is regarded as an evil omen ',
they decide that the best thing to do is to return to their
home.
If nothing of this sort has disturbed them on the way,
they present themselves at the house of the girl's parents
and make known the object of their visit. The latter,
before giving any answer, look steadfastly towards the
south, and wait till one of those little lizards which one
sees running about the walls of a house has uttered a certain
sharp cry, such as these reptiles often make. Then when
the Lizard of the South has spoken, the parents of the girl
give their consent to the marriage, and accept the present
which has been brought by the other parties.
In the evening of the same day, about dusk, they call
together a few relatives and friends, and summon a purohita
in order to consult him about the marriage. Whilst the
men, seated on mats or carpets, are talking together, the
women purify a part of the house ; that is to say, they
rub the floor well with cow-dung mixed with water, and
then draw lines of red and white upon it. As soon as they
have finished, they bring in the god Vigneshwara, to whom
they do puja, and for neiveddya they offer peas, sugar,
a cocoanut, and a sweet beverage called paramanna. All
present w r orship this god, and pray him to remove any
obstacles which might interfere with the projected marriage.
If during this ceremony the Lizard of the South again utters
his cry they think it a favourable omen.
After this ceremony, the purohita fixes on a lucky day
on w r hich to begin to celebrate the marriage. The parents
1 All Hindus are full of these superstitions. No matter how important
the business may be that they are about to undertake, they will never
hesitate for a moment to put it off, if they catch sight of one of these
objects or one of these animals. I have several times seen labourers
take their oxen back to their sheds, and remain idle all day, simply
because when leaving the village in the morning, a snake had crossed
their path. — Dubois.
PROVIDING WEDDING ACCESSORIES 217
of the girl then definitely give their permission, and in
token of their promise they offer betel to all those who are
present. These preliminaries ended, they begin to think
of making preparations for the wedding. Gold and silver
ornaments are ordered for the couple, and form the subject
of endless discussion. The wedding garments are also got
ready, a large number of cloths, such as are worn by both
men and women, are bought to be given away as presents
to relations and friends, a large store is laid in of rice,
wheat flour, liquefied butter, oil of sesamum, peas of all
kinds, dried and fresh vegetables \ fruits, groceries, pickles,
and in fact every sort of edible that a Brahmin is permitted
to use. They also provide saffron, or turmeric, vermilion,
antimony, sandalwood powder, incense, quantities of flowers,
akshatas, or coloured rice, betel, areca-nut, &c, &c. ; also
a great quantity of small silver and copper coins. Further,
they buy new baskets, and above all, plenty of new earthen
vessels of all shapes and kinds ; for these vessels may
never be used a second time, and are immediately broken
after being once used, no matter to what purpose they
have been put.
When everything is ready, they begin to put up a pandal
or canopy. The god Vigneshwara is carried into it, and
to him they do puja, entreating him to ward off any hind-
rance or misfortune which might happen during the celebra-
tion of the marriage.
The purohita who presides at the ceremony must be one
of the first to take up his place under the pandal ; he
must be provided with some darbha grass, small pieces of
wood from the seven sacred trees, and a few other indis-
pensable objects for the sacrifices he is about to offer up.
In the first place, due honour is paid to the household
gods. To this end all the Brahmins present, both men
and women, anoint their heads with oil of sesamum, and
then bathe. The women, after preparing the various
dishes for the feast, take a portion from each, which they
1 Amongst the many kinds of vegetables which Brahmins cat, there
are three which are considered particularly choice ; these are a species
of small round pea, the katri kai (the bdingela of the Portuguese, a sort
of brinjal or egg-plant), and pumpkins. Among fruits they also have
a preference for three — bananas, mangoes, and jack-fruit. — DUBOIS.
218 RITES ON FIRST THREE DAYS
place on a metal dish, and proceed, singing songs and accom-
panied by all the guests, to offer it as neiveddya to these
gods, having first, of course, done puja to them. They
even go so far as to place to the right of them pickles, to
give a relish to their rice, while on their left they place
a cup full of the sweet drink called paramanna, with which
to quench their thirst. The master of the house then
performs the sam-kalpa and offers sandalwood, akshatas,
flowers, and lustral water to his guests, who ought, when
receiving all this, to think of the household gods, in whose
honour the feast immediately following is spread, great
pains having been taken to make it bountiful and magnifi-
cent. Betel is distributed at the termination of the repast,
after which the guests disperse.
The second day, nine Brahmins specially chosen for the
purpose perform the sacrifice of homam and another to
fire, in honour of the nine planets, as at the ceremony of
the upanayana. Two women take the consecrated fire
and carry it, singing the while, to the centre of the pandal,
placing it on the raised dais of earth. Each of the women
then receives a present of a new cloth, and a little bodice
called ravikai. All present then walk round the brazier of
hot coal reciting mantrams, scattering darbha grass and
bowing to the ground. Presents are given to the nine
Brahmins who have sacrificed to the planets, and, as usual,
the meeting ends with a feast.
The third day the father of the bridegroom, having made
his ablutions, takes some akshatas in a cup, and goes out
early to call together relatives and friends. As soon as all
are assembled under the pandal, a pure cloth or carpet is
spread on the raised earthen dais, and the future husband
and wife are seated thereon facing the east. The married
women then approach them and rub their heads with oil,
singing the while, and then proceed with the important
ceremony known as nalangu, which consists in smearing
the naked parts of their bodies with powdered saffron, and
immediately after pouring a great quantity of warm water
over their heads \ The women never cease singing the
1 Xalangu is not a religious ceremony. The powdered saffron is mixed
with quicklime, and made into a paste which is red in colour. It is
rubbed only on the feet. — Ed.
INVOKING THE GODS 219
whole time, and are accompanied by musical instruments.
After the nalangu is over the women array the young couple
in new clothes, as has already been described in the chapter
on the upanayana. The evening of the same day, at the
moment when the lamps are being lighted, the guests
return to assist at the following ceremony : — The married
women, singing all the time, take a wooden cylinder which
they cover with lime and then paint with red longitudinal
stripes. On this they tie small twigs of the mango-tree.
They next sprinkle a great quantity of powdered saffron
over the cylinder, which they immediately afterwards dip
into a new earthen vessel. This they carry with much
solemnity, singing the while, to the centre of the pandal,
where they offer it a sacrifice of incense, and offer
some betel for neiveddya. Every person present makes
a profound obeisance to the vessel. No other saffron
but what is thus consecrated is used during the whole
ceremony.
All these proceedings are merely preparatory to the
marriage ceremony itself, which lasts for five days.
The first day is called muhurta, that is to say, the great
day, or the happy and auspicious day. It is on this day
that the most important and solemn ceremonies take place.
The head of the family goes out early to invite his guests,
while the women busy themselves with purifying the house
and the pandal, which they decorate all round with wreaths
of mango leaves. The guests having arrived stand in a row,
and first adorn their foreheads with akshatas and sandal-
wood. They next anoint their heads with the oil of sesa-
mum which is provided for them, and then they go and
perform their ablutions. On their return the purohita per-
forms the sam-kalpa and invokes all their gods, beginning
with Brahmaj "Vishnu, Rudra, Devendra, and then the
twelve Adityas, the eight Vasus, the nine Brahmas, the
eleven Rudras, the Gandharvas, the Siddhas, the Saddhyas,
the Naradas, the seven great Penitents, the nine planets ;
in fact, every deity whose name occurs" to his memory.
With low obeisance he invites them all to come to the
marriage-feast, makes many flattering speeches to them,
and begs them to remain under the pandal, and to preside
over the ceremony during the five days that it lasts.
220 INVOKING THE ANCESTORS
Then conies the invocation of ancestors. The couple
about to be married are seated on the earthen dais in the
centre of the pandal, having on each side of them their
fathers and mothers, all with their faces turned towards
the east. The father of the bride rises, places the pavitram
amulet on the ring-finger of his right hand, performs
the sam-kalpa, and puts a certain quantity of rice in a
metal dish, and on this rice a cocoanut dyed yellow, three
areca-nuts in their shells, and five others without their
shells 1 .
Then, taking one of the nuts in one hand and the metal
dish in the other, he repeats three times in a loud voice
the names of his father, his grandfather, and his great-
grandfather. Each time he pronounces their names he
raps the copper dish three times with the areca-nut, and
at last, again invoking them by name, he says : ' O my
ancestors, you who dwell in the pitraloka (or paradise of
ancestors), deign to come to this pandal, bringing with you
all the other ancestors who preceded you. Be present,
I beseech you, during the five days of this marriage-feast,
preside at the festivity, and grant to it a happy termina-
tion ! ' He then gives the rice, the cocoanut, and the
areca-nut which were on the dish to the purohita.
This done, the married women bring some fire on a new
earthen chafing-dish, and, singing, place it in the centre
of the pandal. The purohita then consecrates it by scatter-
ing all round it some darbha grass. To the north of it he
places some small pieces of the sacred fig-tree, by the side
of which are placed three small earthen vessels and one of
copper. The first contains milk, the second liquefied
butter, the third curds, and the fourth a certain quantity
of cooked and uncooked rice mixed together. To the
south of the brazier are spread nine portions of rice on
a large banana leaf. These are tastefully arranged in
squares, each portion being destined for one of the nine
planets. Puja is done to each of these nine planets in-
dividually, and offerings of bananas and betel are made to
1 These various objects are an offering which he makes to his ancestors
when inviting them to the wedding. It is always considered polite to
offer a present to any distinguished guest whom you invite to any
ceremony. — Dubois.
THE MUHURTA CEREMONY 221
them as neiveddya, after which they receive the same
invitation as the gods and the ancestors.
The purohita places on the east side of the brazier another
banana leaf, on which he spreads darbha grass and akshatas.
This is an offering to Brahma, to whom is presented a
neiveddya of raw sugar and betel. Then follows the invoca-
tion of the ashta-dik-palakas, or the eight divine guardians
of the eight corners of the world ; and puja is offered them
on the same banana leaf. Then comes the inauguration
of the ishta-devata or tutelary deity, and the deification of
the five little pots in the manner that has already been
described for the upanayana.
These ceremonies ended, the father of the girl performs
the homam in honour of Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra, of
the eight gods who guard the eight compass-points of the
world, of the eight Vasus, and of Indra, taking care to
mention all these gods by name, and also to repeat man-
trams suitable to the occasion. He again does homam to
the nine planets, makes a sacrifice to fire, and offers the
latter some liquefied butter as neiveddya.
A new earthen chafing-dish is then brought, to which
they fasten a piece of saffron thread, and on it is placed
the consecrated fire. Women carry this fire away to a
place apart, singing, of course, the while. Great care is
taken not to let the fire go out till the end of the festivity.
It would be considered a terribly bad omen if, through
negligence or any other cause, it should be extinguished.
Now comes the muhurta, that is to say, the most essential
ceremony of the marriage. To begin with, a sacrifice is
offered to Vigneshwara. The bride and bridegroom are
seated on the earthen dais, their faces towards the east,
and the married women proceed, singing the while, with
the young people's toilette, which is of the most elegant
and sumptuous description. When attired the bridegroom
rises, performs the sam-kalpa, prays to the gods to pardon
all the sins he has committed since he received the triple
cord ; and, to be the more sure of this pardon, he recites
a mantram, and gives fifteen fanams to a Brahmin as alms.
He then dresses himself up as a pilgrim, and makes all
preparations as if he were really going to take a long
journey, announcing that he is going to start on a holy
222 THE KAXKAXA CEREMONY
pilgrimage to Kasi, that is Benares. He leaves the house
accompanied by the married women singing in chorus, and
by his parents and friends, and preceded by instruments of
music. After passing the outskirts of the village he turns
his steps to the east.
But here his future father-in-law meets him, and asks
him where he is going, and on learning the object of his
journey, begs him to give it up. He tells him that he has
a young virgin daughter, and that if he wishes it he will
give her to him in wedlock. The pilgrim accepts the pro-
posal with joy, and returns with his escort to the place
whence he set out. On his return the women perform the
ceremony of the aratti.
The bride and bridegroom having again taken their
places on the dais, and the sam-kalpa having been per-
formed, they then begin the important ceremony called
kankana \ For this purpose they obtain two pieces of
saffron or turmeric, round which they tie a double thread.
They place on a metal dish two handfuls of rice, and on
this rice a cocoanut painted yellow, and on the cocoanut
the two pieces of saffron. Prayers are offered to all the
gods collectively, who are implored to come and place
themselves on this kankana, and to remain there till the
five days of the marriage ceremony have been accomplished.
The bridegroom then takes one of the pieces of saffron and
ties it on his wife's left wrist, who in her turn ties the
other piece on his right wrist. The rice and cocoanut on
which the kankana has been lying are then given to the
purohita.
Then follows the procession of the tutelary deity. The
mother of the bride, accompanied by the other women
and the Brahmins who are present, go and fetch the copper
vase which represents the ishta-devata. The women begin
to sing and the musicians to play, and forming a procession
they march to the end of the street, where, after choosing
a clean spot, they pour out some of the water contained in
the vase. They do puja to the deity while it rests on the
ground, and then it is taken back with the same pomp to
the place whence it came. Then follows the most important
1 The ceremony is actually called kankana-dharana, that is, the tying
or wearing of the kankana. — Ed.
1 THE GIFT OF THE VIRGIN ' 22.°>
ceremony of all. which is called kania-dana, or ihe gift of
the virgin. This is what takes place. The bridegroom
being seated facing the east, his father-in-law performs
the sam-kalpa, places himself in front of him, and looks at
him fixedly for some time without speaking. He is sup-
posed to imagine that he sees in his son-in-law the great
Vishnu ; and with this in his mind, he offers him a sacrifice
of arghya, padya, achamania, akshatas, sandalwood, and
flowers. A new copper vessel is then brought. In this the
young man places his feet, which his father-in-law washes
first with water, then with milk, and then again for the
third time with water, while reciting suitable mantrams.
He performs the great sam-kalpa, which consists in
adding to the ordinary sam-kalpa (vide Part I, Chapter XIII)
the names and attributes of the Bharata Varsha, the Sali-
vahana, the seven islands, the seven seas, the seven pur as or
cities, the seven Penitents, the seven mountains, the sacred
places (punyasthalas), and the holy cities {puny a puras).
He next thinks of his father, his grandfather, and great-
grandfather. Pronouncing their names aloud, he prays
that these and the twenty-one other ancestors who have
preceded them, may attain moksha (or paradise). Then,
holding betel in one hand and taking his daughter's hand
in the other, he says a prayer to Vishnu, begging him to
look with a gracious eye on this gift that he is making of
his virgin daughter. He then places her hand in that of
her future husband, pours a little water over it, and gives
him some betel, the usual token of a gift.
The gift of the virgin is followed by three other gifts,
namely, the go-dana, bhu-dana, and salagrama-dana, which
mean the gift of cows, the gift of land, and the gift of
salagramas, or small stones, to which they attach a super-
stitious value, and which will be spoken of later on.
Then follows the ceremony called mangalewhta l . The
bride and bridegroom are seated facing each other, and
a sheet of silk is suspended in front of them. This is held
by twelve Brahmins, and hides them from the other guests,
who successively invoke in a loud voice Vishnu and his
1 This means ' the eight marriage blessings.' The ceremony concludes
with the throwing of coloured rice over the couple by way of blessing
them. — Ed.
224 BESTOWINfJ THE ' TALI '
wife Lakshmi, Brahma and Sarasvati, Siva and Parvati,
the Sun and his wife Chhaya, the_Moo_n and his wife Rohini,
lndra and Sathi, Vasishta and Arundhati, Rama and Sita,
Krishna and Rukmani, and several other pairs of gods
and goddesses.
As soon as the mangalashta is finished they fasten on the
tali, that is, the little gold ornament which all married
women wear round their necks ; the tali is strung on a little
cord which is dyed yellow with saffron water, and com-
posed of 108 very fine threads closely twisted together.
Other little ornaments of gold are also added, round which
are fastened flowers and fine black seeds. Two handfuls
of rice are placed in a metal pot, on the rice is laid a cocoa-
nut dyed yellow, and on the top of the cocoanut the tali,
to which they offer a s acrifice of sweet perfume s- The
tali is then taken round to all the guests, both men and
women, who touch it and bless it l .
Four large metal lamps, each with four wicks, are brought
in and placed on a stand, which must also be of the same
metal. Above are set other lamps fashioned out of a
paste composed of ground rice, and these are filled with
oil. They are lighted, and four women take them in their
hands. At the same time all round the pandal a great
number of other lamps are lighted. Then ensues a tremen-
dous din. The women sing, the musicians play, bells are
rung, cymbals are clashed, and anything and everything
within reach from which sound can be extracted is seized
on, each one striving to outdo the other in creating noise 2 .
In the midst of this hubbub the husband advances
towards his young wife, who is seated facing the east, and
while reciting mantrams he fastens the tali round her neck,
securing it with three knots.
The husband and wife, sitting side by side, then offer
each other betel. Two married women approach them,
give them their blessing, and place akshatas, which have
been consecrated by mantrams, on their heads, and finally
perform the ceremony of aratti.
1 Old ladies whose husbands are alive are specially requested to touch
and bless the tali, to ensure the couple a long married life. — Ed.
2 This noise is intended to drown any sounds of weeping, sneezing,
quarrelling, &c, which are considered bad omens. — Ed.
THE SESHA CEREMONY 225
\Fire is then brought on a new earthen brazier, and the
purohita consecrates it with mantrams, surrounds it with
darbha grass, and does homam to it. The fire is surrounded
by lighted lamps, and near it is placed a small stone called
the sandalwood stone, no doubt because it has been smeared
with sandalwood oil. Then the husband, holding his wife's
hand, walks three times round the sacred fire, and each
time he makes the circuit he takes his wife's right foot in
his right hand, and makes her touch the sandalwood stone
with it, touching the stone with his own foot at the same
time. Whilst performing this action the thoughts of both
husband and wife should be directed to the great mountain
of the North called Sapta-kula parvata or the mountain of
the seven castes, the original home of their ancestors, the
mountain being represented by this sandalwood stone.
These are the various ceremonies which compose the
muhurta. As soon as they are finished, two bamboos are
planted in the centre of the pandal side by side, and at
the foot of each of them is placed a bamboo basket. The
bride and bridegroom then stand up, each in a basket, and
two other baskets full of rice are brought. They take
handfuls of this rice and shower it over each other in turn.
This they continue to do many times, until they are tired,
or are told to stop \
In some castes the guests perform this ceremony, which
is called sesha, for the newly married pair. Princes and
very rich people have been known to use for the sesha,
instead of rice, pearls and precious stones mixed together.
After the sesha the couple return to their usual seat.
Akshatas consecrated by mantrams are then distributed to
the guests. The husband throws over his right shoulder
a piece of new and clean cloth, one end of which he unfo'ds
before the assembled Brahmins, from whom he receives
a blessing, while they also recite a mantram and place a
portion of the akshatas they have just received on the cloth.
He takes these in his hand and puts one portion on his
1 In some countries the Jews of the present day observe a custom of
throwing handfuls of wheat over a newly married couple, but especially
over the wife, saying : ' Increase and multiply.' Sometimes pieces of
money which are intended for the poor are mingled with the wheat. —
Dubois.
226 ALLEGORICAL MEANING OF CEREMONIES
own head, and the rest on his wife's head, after which the
women again perform aratti to the newly married couple.
It is easy to see the allegorical meaning of most of the
ceremonies which have just been described, and which are
the most solemn and important of the whole proceedings.
The kania-dana, for instance, typifies the handing over of
the girl by the father to the son-in-law and the renuncia-
tion of parental authority over her. The son-in-law for his
part fastens the tali round his wife's neck to show that he
accepts the gift, and that from henceforth she is his pro-
perty. ("The sacrifice of the homam and the thrice-repeated
circuit of the newly married couple round the fire are
a mutual ratification of the contract they have just made
with one another, for there is no more solemn engagement
than that entered into in the presence of fire, which Hindus
look upon as the purest of their gods, and which for this
reason they always prefer to any other when they wish to
make an oath specially binding The ceremony of the
mangalashta is to call down divine blessings on the newly
married couple. That of the sesha is the outward expres-
sion of the wish that they may enjoy an abundance of this
world's goods, or that their union may be fruitful, or per-
haps both.
When all these ceremonies are ended sandalwood powder,
akshatas, and betel are given to all the Brahmins present,
both men and women. All must then go and perform their
ablutions and return for the feast, which on this day must
be specially magnificent.
Before sitting down to eat, they never fail to carry with
due solemnity to the household gods their share of the food
which has been prepared.
All the guests being seated in a row upon the ground,
the men quite apart from the women, so that the latter are
out of sight, a large banana leaf is placed before each person,
and a helping of boiled rice is placed on it, and on one side
two other leaves, folded in the form of cups, one contain-
ing melted butter and the other a strongly spiced sauce.
The second course consists of dried peas, green vegetables,
and roots of various kinds. The third course consists of
fritters, puddings boiled in water, others fried in butter,
others sweetened and spiced, curdled milk, and salt pickles.
THE MARRIAGE FEAST 227
Bananas, jack, and other fruits make up the fourth course.
Then follows the kalavanta, which consists of four different
dishes all highly flavoured, and composed of various in-
gredients mixed with rice. To finish the repast a beverage
is handed round composed of lime-juice, sugar, cardamom,
and aniseed mixed with water. The whole meal takes
place in absolute silence.
When all the guests have feasted they turn their atten-
tion to the meal for the newly married couple, not. for-
getting the necessary ceremonies connected with it. {First
of all the sacred fire is brought and placed before the dais
on which they are sitting. The husband rises and does
homam to the fire, whilst the purohita repeats mantrams.
Then the women form a procession, and singing take the
fire back to its original place?] The young married couple,
holding each other by the h^nd, go to the place where the
tutelary deity is reposing, and make a deep obeisance to it.
The husband then does puja to it, and offers as neiveddya
some cakes and boiled rice. They make a similar obei-
sance to the five little earthen vases placed near the deity,
in which are sown ten kinds of seeds, and sprinkle them
with water.
It is only after having gone through all these prelimi-
naries that the young married couple are allowed to partake
of the meal which has been specially prepared for them.
They sit down facing one another in the centre of the
pandal on two little stools, the bridegroom facing east.
Before them is spread a large banana leaf, and at each of
its four corners are placed four lamps made of ground rice
filled with oil, which are lighted, as well as many others all
round the pandal. Then the married women bring in on
two metal dishes the different viands which have been
prepared for the young couple, much singing and music
going on the while. After they have been helped, melted
butter is poured three times on to their fingers, and after
swallowing this they begin to eat their food together from
the same leaf \ To eat in this manner is a sign of the
1 This custom is not observed nowadays in Hindu marriages, but the
bridegroom and bride exchange comestibles from each other's leaves.
When they live together afterwards the wife may, and does, eat off her
husband's leaf, after he has finished eating. — Ed.
228 AVERTING THE EVIL EYE
most complete union, and is the most unmistakable proof
of friendship that two persons closely united could possibly
give each other. Later on the wife will be allowed to eat
what her husband leaves, but never again will she be
permitted to eat in company with him. This is a favour
which is only granted her on her wedding-day.
Their meal finished, the newly married couple go outside,
preceded by music, and accompanied by the women sing-
ing, by all the guests, and by the purohita. The purohita
points out to them a small star called Arundhati, the wife
of the Penitent Vasishta, which is to be found near the
pole-star. The couple nrnke a deep reverence to the star
and return to the house in the same procession \ There
the women perform the ceremony of aratti. This ter-
minates the ceremonies of the first day, called muhurta, or
the great day.
I will spare my readers the details of the ceremonies
which occupy the four following days, and which, as a rule,
are merely a repetition of those just described. What little
variety there is, is much in the same style. These cere-
monies are interspersed with the most innocent games and
amusements, which would appear to us utterly ridiculous,
and only suitable for little children, but which afford them
the greatest pleasure and infinite amusement.
Amongst the second day's ceremonies one of the most
extraordinary is when they place a sort of ornament, called
bassinam, on the forehead of both the husband and wife.
This bassinam is covered with gold-leaf or gold paper, and
flowers are entwined round it. The object of the bassinam
is to avert the effects of the drishti-dosha or evil eye, the
spell which is cast by the looks of jealous or ill-disposed
people. Placed thus on the most conspicuous part of the
body it is supposed to attract the eyes of the malevolent,
and thus prevent them exercising their malign influence
on the persons of the newly married couple.
Amongst the ceremonies which take place on the third
day there is a peculiar one. The husband, as usual, per-
forms the sacrifice of the komam and another to fire, and
1 Arundhati was the chaste and devoted wife of Vasishta Rishi ; and
when the couple look at this star they make a vow that they too will
live like Vasishta and Arundhati. — En.
INNOCENT AMUSEMENTS 229
after him his wife comes up and performs the same sacrifice,
only with this difference, that instead of using boiled rice,
she uses parched rice. This is, I believe, the only occasion
on which a woman can take an active part in any of these
sacrifices, which the Brahmins hold to be most sacred and
most solemn.
The only remarkable ceremony which takes place on the
fourth day is the nalangu, in which the newly married
couple rub each other's legs three times with powdered
saffron. I do not in the least understand the meaning of
this ceremony. I fancy its only object is to kill time.
Europeans under similar circumstances would spend it in
drinking, often to excess ; or in gambling, dancing, singing
songs in honour of love and wine, sometimes even in
carrying on intrigues with the object of loosening the
sacred marriage tie, which it is the object of marriage
ceremonies to make secure. The Hindus spend their
wedding-days more wisely in religious observances, of
which the greater number are well calculated to leave
a lasting impression on the minds of those attending them.
The innocent and artless games with which they amuse
themselves afford them none the less pleasure because they
are so. In the domestic festivities of the Brahmins, decency,
modesty, purity, and reserve are always conspicuous. This
is the more remarkable as they obey a religion whose
dogmas are for the most part saturated with immorality.
The fifth day is chiefly occupied in dismissing, with all
the customary formalities, the gods, the planets, the great
penitents, the ancestors, and all the other divinities who
have been invited to the feast. They dismiss even the
kankanam, that is to say, the two pieces of saffron attached
to the wrists of the newly made husband and wife. Finally,
the god of the mantapam, that is to say of the pandal, is
himself dismissed. Then follows the distribution of presents,
which vary in value according to the means of the host.
The purohita who has taken the most prominent part, and
after him the women who have been singing the whole
time from beginning to end, carry off the lion's share of
these bounties. I must just mention that the songs which
arc sung at these ceremonies contain nothing obscene or
even erotic ; they are either a sort of explanation of the
230 A WEDDING PROCESSION
aim and object of each ceremony or else a long rigmarole
in praise of the bride and bridegroom, in which they also
give expression to the most heartfelt wishes for their future
happiness.
The festivity ends with a solemn procession through the
streets, which generally takes place at night by torchlight
in the midst of squibs and fireworks of all kinds. The
newly married pair are seated face to face in an open palan-
quin highly decorated. Both of them are loaded, rather
than adorned, with flowers, jewels, and other ornaments,
for the most part borrowed for the occasion. The pro-
cession advances slowly. Relatives and friends before
whose houses it passes, come out to meet it. The women
perform the ceremony of aratti to the couple, and the
men give presents of silver, fruits, sugar, betel, &c. These
gifts are really only a loan, for those who receive them
are expected to return them on similar occasions to the
givers. I have sometimes seen wedding processions that
were really beautiful, though perhaps not quite according
to our taste.
Such are a Brahmin's wedding ceremonies, all of which,
and many more minute observances which I have not
thought it worth while to mention, are scrupulously per-
formed with more or less magnificence by rich as well as
by poor.
Sudras' marriage ceremonies are equally solemn, though
much less elaborate. In every caste marriage is looked
upon as the most important affair in a man's life. It is
also the most expensive one, and brings many a Hindu
to ruin. Some spend on it all that they possess, and
a great deal more besides ; while others, in order to fulfil
what is expected of them, contract debts which they are
never able to repay l .
I shall say nothing of the feasts which are given by their
relatives and friends to the newly married couple, of the
presents they receive, or of the ceremonies in their honour.
I will only add that for a whole month the feasting and
rejoicings go on.
When all the festivities have at length come to an end,
1 One of the planks of the Social Reform platform is the reduction
of marriage expenses. — Ed.
THE HINDU IDEA OF WOMEN 231
the bride returns home with her parents, who keep her shut
up till such time as she shall be able to fulfil all the duties
of a wife. This also is another occasion for festivities.
There is the same gathering of friends and relatives, and
almost the same ceremonies, with a few exceptions, that
took place at the first wedding. The father and mother
of the bridegroom, on being informed that their daughter-
in-law has arrived at an age when the marriage can be
consummated, go and fetch her, and conduct her home
in triumph. And in order that she may become accus-
tomed by degrees to married life, her own parents come at
the end of a month and take her back to her own home,
and for the first few years, or until she has children, she
lives alternately in her parents' and in her husband's house.
These mutual arrangements are at first a proof of the
happy understanding existing between the two families.
But unfortunately this harmony rarely lasts long, for very
soon, finding herself ill-treated and even beaten by her
husband, and tormented in a thousand ways by an exact-
ing mother-in-law who treats her like a slave and vents upon
her all her whims and ill-temper, the poor young wife is
forced to a surreptitious flight, seeking shelter and pro-
tection under her father's roof. Then, relying on promises
of better treatment in future, she consents to resume her
fetters ; but fresh outrages soon force her to escape again.
In the end, resigning herself to the inevitable, or for the
sake of her children, she gives up the struggle, and meekly
bows to marital authority. A real union with sincere and
mutual affection, or even peace, is very rare in Hindu
households. The moral gulf which exists in this country
between the sexes is so great that in the eyes of a native
the woman is simply a passive object who must be abjectly
submissive to her husband's will and fancy. She is never
looked upon as a companion who can share her husband's
thoughts and be the first object of his care and affection.
The Hindu wife finds in her husband only a proud and
overbearing master who regards her as a fortunate woman
to be allowed the honour of sharing his bed and board.
If there are some few women who are happy and beloved
by those to whom they have been blindly chained by their
family, this good fortune must be attributed to the naturally
232 SUDRA MARRIAGES
kind disposition of their husbands, and not in any way to
the training the latter have received 1 .
A Brahmin purohita does not usually preside at a Sudra
marriage unless the contracting parties are very rich and
of high position, and thus able to recompense him hand-
somely. Generally the ceremony is performed by one of
the mendicant Brahmins who go about selling Hindu
almanacs from door to door.
In each caste custom differs as to the manner in which
a bride is demanded, the sum of money paid for her, the
quantity and the value of her jewels, the colour and price
of the wedding garments, the arrangements as to who shall
defray the expenses of the ceremony, the number of feasts
provided for the guests, and the presents made to relatives
and friends.
Amongst the Sudras the erection of the pandal is one of
the most important and solemn of the ceremonies. It is
set up in the street, opposite the entrance-door of the house,
seven, five, or three days before the wedding festivities
begin. As soon as it is put up a procession is formed,
accompanied by music, to fetch the ara-sani, that is to say,
a green branch of the sacred fig-tree with leaves on it.
This is planted in the centre of the pandal ; puja is offered
to it and also votive offerings. All present walk round it
in single file, making deep obeisance to it. It represents
Vishnu, to whom the sacred fig-tree is specially dedicated,
and it remains in the middle of the pandal during the whole
of the ceremonies as the tutelary god of the festivity.
Processions round it take place at intervals, always accom-
panied by the same marks of respect. Another peculiarity
at a Sudra wedding is that a lamp is kept alight in a pro-
minent part of the pandal during the three days' festivities,
the wick of which is composed of 108 threads. Among
the Sudras also the number of earthen cooking-pots is
restricted to ten.
The Brahmin who presides at the marriage begins by
breaking one or more cocoanuts before the ara-sani, and
according as the nut breaks in this or that direction, favour-
able or unfavourable auguries of the future of the nev.lv
1 The spread of education, though it has not extended far amongst
Hindu women, is gradually changing many of these domestic evils. — Ed.
KSHATRIYA MARRIAGES 233
married pair are determined. Almost all the other cere-
monies are identical with those of the Brahmins.
At the marriage of Kshatriyas or Rajahs, the ceremonial
differs very little from that of the Brahmins. A purohita
invariably presides and takes the leading part. All the
Brahmins who live in the place and in the neighbourhood
are invited, but as they cannot eat with people of this
caste, they receive each day portions of rice, melted butter,
curdled milk, peas, vegetables, and fruits, which they cook
for themselves and feast upon apart.
At the termination of the ceremonies they receive more
or less valuable presents of cloths and other things accord-
ing to their rank and in proportion to the means of the
family who give the feast.
At the marriages of Kshatriyas, too, all the different
kinds of weapons used in warfare are brought in with
much solemnity, accompanied by the songs of the women
and by instruments of music. These weapons remain
hung up in the most conspicuous part of the pandal until
the festivities are ended. The guests offer them sacrifices,
and worship them from time to time, and similar proces-
sions are made round them to those of the Sudras round
the sacred fig-branch.
The work from which I have extracted these details
gives particulars of a remarkable expedient for procuring
a wife sometimes adopted by the noble caste of Kshatriyas.
When a young man of this caste wishes to marry, instead
of going through the usual prescribed forms and humiliating
proceedings with the parents of the girl that he has in view,
he exercises the right of carrying off the noble lady on
whom he has set his affections. To ensure success in his
enterprise he collects a numerous following, unexpectedly
declares hostilities against the king whose son-in-law he
hopes to be, and tries to wrest his daughter from him either
by force or strategy. As soon as she is in his power he
conducts her to his home in triumph, and celebrates the
marriage with all due solemnity. This method of procur-
ing a wife, says the author, is the most approved of all in
the case of a Kshatriya ; and, in fact, Hindu books often
mention similar instances of rape, but always amongst the
Rajah caste.
13
234 DUTIES PRESCRIBED FOR KSHATRIYAS
The ritual of the Brahmin purohitas, after describing in
detail the ceremonies to be observed at a Kshatriya mar-
riage, always terminates with a short sermon on the principal
duties imposed on this noble caste.
k The real caste of Kshatriyas has ceased to exist,' says
this same author, ' and the so-called Kshatriyas of the
present time are a bastard race \ Whoever pretends to
be a true Kshatriya ought to know that he can only be
a soldier, and nothing else, and that his one object in life
is to make war. During a war he should be careful not to
injure a labourer, an artisan, any one who flees before him,
who asks his assistance or who places himself under his
protection, any one who during the battle or after it lays
down his arms and with supplicating hands asks for quarter.
In a word, he should conduct himself in these circum-
stances according to the rules laid down in the Dharma-
sastra. The true Kshatriya when engaged in fighting an
enemy should give up all desire to live. Far be it from
him to think of retreating or taking to flight ! On the
contrary, let him advance bravely, resolved to conquer or
to die ! The happiest death for a Kshatriya, the one he
should wish for most, is to die sword in hand, fighting.
It procures for him the inestimable happiness of being
admitted to Swarga 2 . Boundless ambition is the highest
virtue a Kshatriya can possess. However vast his posses-
sions may be already, he should never say that he has
enough. All his thoughts should tend to enlarging and
extending his territories and to making war on neighbour-
ing princes with a view to appropriating their possessions
by main force. He should show faith and piety towards
the gods ; he should respect Brahmins, placing the utmost
1 This caste was almost entirely annihilated by Vishnu, who visited
the earth in the person of Parasurama. The Kshatriyas, it is related,
had increased to such an extent that they filled the whole earth, which
they ruled with such unbearable tyranny, that Vishnu, with a view to
deliver the world from their unjust oppression, began, as Parasurama,
a long and bloody war against them, in which all the men of the caste
were exterminated. Only the women were spared, and they became
the concubines of Brahmins. The Kshatriyas of the present day arc
descendants of the bastards who resulted from these illegitimate unions.
— Dubois.
a Paradise of Indra.
ABUNDANT CHARITY INCULCATED 235
confidence in them, and loading them with gifts. Truth
and justice are the foundations on which all his actions
should be based. His leisure moments should be given
up to reading the Dhanur-veda 1 3 and other sacred works
which he has the right to study, and he should regulate
his conduct by the customs of his caste. Humane and
generous, he must never refuse to do good to any one,
whoever he may be, and it should be said of no one that
he left a Kshatriya's presence unsatisfied. The best and
most honourable way in which he can spend his wealth
is to give abundant alms to Brahmins, to build temples
with gopurams, to erect rest-houses and other buildings
for public use on the high-roads, to repair those that are
falling into decay, to sink wells and make reservoirs and
tanks, and to establish chutrams (almshouses for Brahmins)
in many places. He should do his best to rule his country
with equity, and should keep a careful watch lest he act
unjustly. He must give to all his subjects their due, and
never exact from them more than what rightfully belongs
to him. In short, his duty is to model his conduct in every-
thing on the rules laid down in the Dhanna-sastra.'
CHAPTER VII
The second, or Grahadha, Status of Brahmin. — Rules of Life which the
Brahmin Grahastha should daily follow. — Introduction. — Forms to
be observed when relieving Nature and when Washing. — Manner
of cleansing the Teeth. — Sandhya, Part I. — Rules relating to Ablu-
tions. — The Correct Order of Daily Avocations. — Rules to be
followed when Eating and when going to Bed. — Sandhya, Part II.
— Mantrams of which the Sandhya is composed. — Sandhya for
Morning, Noon, and Evening. — Conclusion. — General Remarks.
The greater part of the matter contained in this chapter
will not perhaps appear very interesting to some readers.
However, the subject, considered from a philosophical
point of view, seemed to me to be curious, and I think
that many will forgive the prolix details that I am about
to give for the sake of learning more exactly what the
customs of the Brahmins really are. I have gleaned these
details from the great book of Brahmin ritual called Nittia-
karma. I shall classify them in parts and sections, as is
1 This Veda treats of the science of archery. — Ed.
236 WHO IS A GRAHASTHA BRAHMIN
usually done in works of this kind, and shall follow the
divisions as they exist in the original. The name of
Grahastha Brahmin is, strictly speaking, only given to those
who are married, and who already have children. A young
Brahmin after his marriage ceases virtually to be a Brah-
machari, but as long as his wife by reason of her youth
remains with her parents, he is not considered a real
Grahastha. He only earns the right to this title after he
has paid the debt to his ancestors, that is, by being the father
of a son. Brahmins who have fulfilled this latter condition
form the real bulk of the caste ; it is they who uphold its
rights and settle any differences that may arise. It is they
who are expected to see that the customs are observed and
to further them b}^ precept and example.
Introduction.
The Grahastha should rise every day about an hour and
a half before the sun appears above the horizon. On
rising his first thoughts should be for Vishnu. He then
calls upon the following gods to cause the sun to rise,
saying : ' Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Sun, Moon, Mars,
Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu, cause the
dawn to appear ! '
He pronounces the name of his guru, or spiritual teacher,
and addresses the following prayer to him : ' I offer worship
to you ; to you who resemble the god whom I love most ;
it is by your wise advice that I am able to escape the dangers
and perils of this world.'
He must then imagine himself to be the Supreme Being,
and say : ' I am God ! there is none other but me. I am
Brahma ; I enjoy perfect happiness, and am unchange-
able.' He thinks deeply on this point with great com-
placency for some time, fully persuading himself that he
is really Brahma. After this he addresses Vishnu thus :
1 god, who art a pure spirit, the giver of life to all things,
the ruler of the universe, and the husband of Lakshmi, by
your command I rise, and am about to occupy myself
with the affairs of this world.'
He must then think of what work he has before him
during the day, of the good deeds that he proposes to do,
and of the best means of carrying out his intentions. He
RULES OBSERVABLE BY BRAHMINS 237
reminds himself that his daily tasks to be meritorious must
be done zealously and piously, and not indifferently and
perfunctorily. Whilst thus thinking he takes courage, and
makes a resolution to do his best. After that he performs
the hari-smarana, which consists in reciting aloud the
litanies to Vishnu, and in repeating his thousand names \
These preliminaries ended, he must attend to the calls
of nature, and the following are the rules which he must
follow in this important matter : —
Section I. — Rules to be observed by Brahmins when
answering the calls of nature.
I. Taking in his hand a big chembu (brass vessel) he will
proceed to the place set apart for this purpose, which should
be at least a bowshot from his domicile 2 .
II. Arrived at the place he will begin by taking off his
slippers, which he deposits some distance away, and will
then choose a clean spot on level ground.
III. The places to be avoided for such a purpose are :
the enclosure of a temple ; the edge of a river, pond, or
well ; a public thoroughfare or a place frequented by the
public ; a light -coloured soil ; a ploughed field ; and any
spot close to a banian or any other sacred tree.
IV. A Brahmin must not at the time wear a new or
newly washed cloth.
1 The hari-smarana consists in saying : ' Hail Govinda ! Hail
Kesava ! Hail Narayana ! Hail Hari ! ' &c, &c. It must not be
supposed, however, that all the names and epithets by which this god
is designated have any very flattering meanings attached to them.
For instance, Govinda means cowherd ; Kesava, ' he who has hair on
his head ' ; Narayana, ' he who lives on the waters,' &c. Several other
names of Vishnu are even more ridiculous than these. — Dubois.
2 I have decided only after much hesitation to give these somewhat
disgusting details. To a judicious and enlightened student, however,
a knowledge of the common, everyday habits of a nation is not without
its use ; and overcoming my natural repugnance on this account, I have
ventured to believe that my readers will pardon me for not excising so
important a section of the Brahmin's vade mecum. I may remark at
the same time that all these minute details pertaining to cleanliness
and health belong to an elaborate system of hygiene which extends to
other practices of the people of India, and which is certainly very bene-
ficial in a hot country like theirs. The Hebrew lawgiver also did not
forbear to insert rules similar to these in the Hebrew books of law (Deut.
xxiii. 12, 13). — Dubois.
-2:)* STRICT RULES OF HYGIENE
V. He will take care to hang his triple cord over his left
ear and to cover his head with his loin-cloth.
VI. He will stoop down as low as possible. It would be
a great offence to relieve oneself standing upright or only
half stooping : it would be a still greater offence to do so
sitting on the branch of a tree or upon a wall.
VII. While in this posture he should take particular care
to avoid the great offence of looking at the sun or the moon,
the stars, fire, a Brahmin, a temple, an image, or one of
the sacred trees.
VIII. He will keep perfect silence.
IX. He must chew nothing, have nothing in his mouth,
and hold nothing on his head.
X. He must do what he has to do as quickly as possible,
and rise immediately.
XI. After rising he will commit a great offence if he looks
behind his heels.
XII. If he neglects none of these precautions his act
will be a virtuous one, and not without merit ; but if he
neglects any of them the offence will not go without
punishment.
XIII. He will wash his feet and hands on the very spot
with the water contained in the chembu which he brought.
Then, taking the vessel in his right hand, and holding his
private parts in his left hand, he will go to the stream to
purify himself from the great defilement which he has
contracted.
XIV. Arrived at the edge of the river or pond where lie
purposes to wash himself, he will first choose a suitable
spot, and will then provide himself with some earth to be
used along with the water in cleansing himself.
XV. He must be careful to provide himself with the
proper kind of earth, and must remember that there are
several kinds which cannot be used without committing
an offence under these circumstances. Such are the earth
of white-ant nests ; salt-earth ; potters' earth ; road-dust ;
bleaching earth ; earth taken from under trees, from temple
enclosures, from cemeteries, from cattle pastures ; earth
that is almost white like ashes ; earth thrown up from rat-
holes and such like.
XVI. Provided with the proper kind of earth, he will
AN ELABORATE PROCESS 239
approach the water but will not go into it. He will take
some in his chembu. He will then go a little distance away
and wash his feet and hands again. If he has not a brass
vessel he will dig a little hole in the ground with his hands
near the river-side and will fill it with water, which he will
use in the same way, taking great care that this water shall
not leak back into the river.
XVII. Taking a handful of earth in his left hand l , he
will pour water on it and rub it well on the dirty part of
his body. He will repeat the operation, using only half
the amount of earth, and so on three times more, the
amount of earth being lessened each time.
XVIII. After cleansing himself thus he will wash each
of his hands five times with earth and water, beginning
with the left hand.
XIX. He will wash his private parts once with water
and potters' earth mixed.
XX. The same performance for his two feet, repeated
five times for each foot, beginning, under the penalty of
eternal damnation, with the right foot.
XXI. Having thus scoured the different parts of his
body with earth and water he will wash them a second
time with water only.
XXII. After that he will wash his face and rinse his
1 It is only the left hand that may be used on these occasions. It
would be thought unpardonably filthy to use the right hand. It is
always the left hand that is used when anything dirty has to be done,
such as blowing the nose, cleaning the ears, the eyes, &c. The right
hand is generally used when any part of the body above the navel is
touched, and the left hand below that. All Hindus are so habituated
to this that one rarely sees them using the wrong hand. The custom
of carefully washing the dirty part after answering a call of nature is
strictly observed in every caste. The European habit of using paper
is looked upon by all Hindus, without exception, as an utter abomina-
tion, and they never speak of it except with horror. There are some
who even refuse to believe such a habit exists, and think it must be
a libel invented out of hatred for Europeans. I am quite sure that
when the natives talk amongst themselves of what they call our dirty,
beastly habits, they never fail to put this at the head of them all, and to
make it a subject of bitter sarcasm and mockery. The sight of a foreigner
spitting or blowing his nose into a handkerchief and then putting it
into his pocket is enough to make them feel sick. According to their
notions it is the politest thing in the world to go outside and blow one's
nose with one's fingers and then to wipe them on a wall. — Dubois.
240 RULES FOR CLEANING THE TEETH
mouth out eight times \ When he is doing this last act
lie must take very great care to spit out the water on his
left side, for if by carelessness or otherwise he unfortunately
spits it out on the other side, he will assuredly go to hell.
XXIII. He will think three times on Vishnu and will
swallow a little water three times in doing so 2 .
Section II. — Rules to be observed when cleaning the teeth 3 .
I. To clean his teeth a Hindu must use a small twig cut
from either an uduga, a rengu, or a neradu tree, or from
one of a dozen others of which the names are given by the
author.
II. If such a twig is unobtainable, he may use a bit of
wood cut from any thorny or milky shrub.
III. Before cutting the twig he must repeat the following
prayer to the gods of the woods : ' gods of the woods !
I cut one of your small twigs to cleanse my teeth. Grant
me, for this action, long life, strength, honours, wit, many
cattle and much wealth, prudence, judgement, memory,
and power.'
IV. This prayer ended, he cuts a twig a few inches in
length, and softens one end into the form of a painter's
brush.
V. Squatting on his heels and facing either east or north,
1 It is necessary to rinse the mouth out after every action which is
calculated to cause any defilement. The rule is to rinse the mouth out
four times after making water, eight times after answering an ordinary
call of nature, twelve times after taking food, and sixteen times after
sexual intercourse. It is easy to recognize in this rule one of those
wise ordinances of hygiene so appropriate to the climate and rendered
obligatory by usage. — Dubois.
2 This is called achamania. — Ed.
3 The practice of rinsing out the mouth and scrubbing the teeth well
with a small piece of green wood freshly cut from the branch of a tree
is very general, not only amongst Brahmins, but also amongst all other
castes. Europeans, as a rule, are considered to neglect this practice
so indispensable to cleanliness and comfort, and in consequence are still
further despised on that account ; while those Europeans who do clean
their teeth are held to do so in such an objectionable manner as rather
to add to the disgust which Hindus feel for those who are neglectful
of this custom, because they use for this purpose a brush made with the
bristles of a dead animal, and therefore impure, and also because they
use the same brush many times, though it has after the first time been
defiled by saliva. — Dubois.
ABSTENTION ON CERTAIN DAYS 241
he scrubs all his teeth well with this brush, after which he
rinses his mouth with fresh water.
VI. He must not indulge in this cleanly habit every day.
He must abstain on the sixth, the eighth, the ninth, the
eleventh, the fourteenth, and the last day of the moon, on
the days of new and full moon, on the Tuesday in every
week, on the day of the constellation under which he was
born, on the day of the week and on the day of the month
which correspond with those of his birth, at an eclipse, at
the conjunction of the planets, at the equinoxes, the
solstices, and other unlucky epochs, and also on the anni-
versary of the death of his father or mother.
VII. Any one who cleans his teeth with his bit of stick
on any of the above-mentioned days will have hell as his
portion !
VIII. He may, however, except on the day of the new
moon and on the ekadasi (eleventh day of the moon),
substitute grass or the leaves of a tree for this piece of
wood.
IX. On the day of the new moon and on the ekadasi he
may only clean his teeth with the leaves of the mango, the
juvi, or the nere.
After having cleaned his teeth the Brahmin must direct
his steps to some water to go through the important act
of the sandhya l .
Section III. — The First Part of the Sandhya. Rules to
be observed by a Brahmin while washing.
I. He performs the sam-kalpa, then calling to mind the
gods of the waters, he worships them. He then thinks of
the Ganges, and addresses the following prayer to the sacred
river : ' O Ganges ! who were born in Brahma's pitcher,
whence you descended in streams on to Siva's hair, from
Siva's hair to Vishnu's feet, and thence flowed on to the
earth to wash out the sins of all men, to purify them and
1 The word sandhya answers to our word ' twilight ' ; it indicates the
moment in the day when the sun reaches its apogee. Thus the sandhya
must be performed three times a day, morning, noon, and evening. —
Dubois.
Sandhya literally means ' meeting,' between day and night, that is.
—Ed.
242 RULES FOR WASHING
promote their happiness ! You are the stay and support
of all living creatures here below ! I think of you, and it
is in my mind to bathe in your sacred waters. Deign to
blot out my sins and deliver me from all evil.'
II. This prayer ended, he must think of the seven sacred
rivers (the Ganges, the Jumna, the Indus, the Godavari,
the Saras vati, the Nerbudda, and the Cauvery). Then
plunging into the water, he fixes his thoughts intently
on the Ganges, and imagines that he is really bathing in
that river.
III. His ablutions finished, he turns towards the sun,
takes water in his hands three times, and makes a libation
to the sun by letting the water run off the tips of his fingers.
IV. He then leaves the water, girds up his loins with
a pure cloth, and puts another on his shoulders. He sits
down with his face to the east, fills his brass vessel with
water, which he places in front of him, rubs his forehead
with the ashes of cow-dung or sandalwood, and traces on
it the red mark called tiloki according to the custom of his
caste. He ends by hanging either a wreath of flowers
round his neck, or else a string of seeds called rudrakshas.
V. He thinks of Vishnu, and in honour of him drinks
three times a little of the water contained in the vessel.
He also makes three libations to the sun by pouring water
on the ground.
VI. Similar libations are made in honour of the gods
Vishnu, Siva, Brahma, Indra, Agni, Yama, Neiruta, Varuna,
Vayu, Kubera, Isana, the air, the earth, and all the gods
in general, mentioning those by name which occur to his
memory.
VII. Then he rises, pronouncing aloud the name of the
sun, and worshipping him. He then meditates some time
on Vishnu, and repeats the prescribed form of prayer in
his honour \
VIII. He again repeats the names of the gods, turning
round the while, and ends by making them a profound
bow.
IX. Thinking once again of the sun, he addresses the
following prayer to him : —
4 sun-god ! You are Brahma at your rising, Rudra at
1 Details of this will be found in the second part of the sandhya.
THE SACRED EKJ-TREE 243
noon, and Vishnu when setting. You are the jewel of the
air, the king of the day, the witness of everything that
takes place on earth ; you are the eye of the world, the
measurer of time ; you order the day and night, the weeks,
the months, the years, the cycles, the kalpas, the yugas,
the seasons, the ayanas, the times of ablution and of prayer.
You are lord of the nine planets ; you absolve the sins of
those who pray to you and offer you sacrifices. Darkness
flies at your approach. In the space of sixty ghatikas
(twenty-four minutes) you ride mounted in your chariot
over the great mountain of the North, which is ninety
million five hundred and ten thousand yojanas in extent.
I worship you with all my strength ; deign in your mercy
to put away all my sins.'
X. Hereupon he turns round and round, twelve, twenty-
four, or forty-eight times according as he is able, in honour
of the sun.
XI. He then goes to a sacred fig-tree, and with his face
towards the east makes it a profound inclination, repeating
the following prayer the while : ' aswatta tree ! You are
a god ! You are the king of trees ! Your roots represent
Brahma, your trunk Siva, your branches Vishnu. Thus
are you the emblem of the Trimurti. All those who honour
you in this world by performing to you the ceremony of
the upanayana or of marriage \ by walking round about
you, by adoring you and singing your praises, or by other
similar acts, will obtain remission of their sins in this world
and a home of bliss in the next. Penetrated with the con-
sciousness of these truths I praise and adore you with all
my strength. Deign to give me a proof of your goodness
by vouchsafing the pardon of my sins in this world, and
a place with the blessed after death.'
XII. He then walks round the tree seven, fourteen,
twenty-one, twenty-eight, thirty-five, or more times, accord-
ing as he has strength, always increasing the number by
seven.
XIII. He then reads some devotional book for a certain
time, and having finished he rises, clothes himself with
pure cloths, plucks a few flowers to offer to his household
1 It will be seen in the following pages that this tree is given in marriage
with all due solemnity. — Dubois.
244 DAILY AVOCATIONS
gods, fills his copper vase with water, and returns to his
house.
Section IV. — A Brahmin's daily avocations.
I. On returning to his house the Brahmin Grahastha
makes the sacrifice of homam, and may then attend to his
ordinary affairs.
II. Towards noon, after having ordered his meal, he
returns to the river to perform the sandhya for the second
time, just as he did in the morning, the prayers only being
different.
III. He returns home, taking the greatest care to remain
undefiled, and avoiding with scrupulous anxiety the touch
of anything on the road that might defile him. For in-
stance, he would have to return promptly to the river if
by any accident he set foot on a piece of broken glass or
pottery, a bit of rag, hair, or a piece of skin, &c, or if he
was touched by a person of inferior caste. It is necessary
for him to preserve the most absolute purity to be able to
perform the sacrifice which he is about to make.
IV. On his return to his house he proceeds with the
daily sacrifice due to his household gods. Everything
being ready for this important ceremony, he turns towards
the east or towards the north, and remains some time in
deep meditation. Taking a position below the divinity,
he places the flowers he brought as an offering to the right
of the god to whom he is going to do jmja. Before him is
placed a vessel full of water, also incense, a lamp, sandal-
wood, cooked rice, and other things of which the sacrifice
is to be composed.
V. He first drives away the giants and evil spirits by
snapping his fingers ten times, and turning round and
round. By these means he prevents their approach.
VI. He then sets to work to provide himself with a new
body, beginning with these words : ' I myself am the
divinity to whom I am about to offer sacrifice.' By virtue
of these words he unites the individual soul which reposes
in his navel with the supreme soul which reposes in his
breast. In the same way he unites successively the different
elements of which he is made, the earth to the water, the
water to the fire, the fire to the wind, the wind to the air.
UNDERGOING METAMORPHOSIS 245
VII. He presses the right nostril with his thumb and
repeats the monosyllable jon sixteen times, and breathing
heavily through the left nostril he thereby dries up the
body which forms his mortal tenement.
VIII. With his thumb and first finger he closes both
nostrils, repeats the word ron six times, holds his breath,
thinks of fire ; and by this means burns his body.
IX. He repeats the word lorn thirty-two times, blowing
hard all the time through his right nostril. He thus blows
away the body which has just been burned. He must
think of a new set of senses, and the thought will of itself
suffice to procure them for him.
X. Then thinking of water, he causes the amrita to fall
from the moon by pronouncing the sacred word aum. He
diffuses this amrita over the whole of his body, which then
becomes resuscitated.
XI. Finally, while saying the word jom he thinks of the
elements of which he is composed, and arranges them in
order, in the place of those he has just got rid of.
XII. He again repeats : ' I am myself the divinity to
whom I am about to do sacrifice.' He then brings back
to his navel the individual soul which had been incorporated
in the supreme soul, after which, putting his right hand on
his head, he says : ' Glory to the Penitent Narada ! ' and
he imagines that this Penitent is then resting on his head.
Placing his hands on the vessel of water beside him he
evokes upon it the mantra gayatri. Finally, he lays his
hand on his chest, and Vishnu is at once there. He
finishes by saying the letters of the alphabet over the
new and perfectly pure body which he has just made for
himself.
After this preparatory ceremony, called santi-yoga, he
does puja to his household gods. He may also do it, over
the little stone salagrama, to all kinds of gods. This is
indeed the most perfect form of worship. But he may
also do it over a vessel full of water.
XIII. He then sits down to his meal. If his means
allow of it he should not fail to invite daily as many poor
Brahmins as possible to this repast.
XIV. He eats in silence, but he does not begin until he
has carefully put on one side for his departed ancestors
246 RULES OBSERVED DURING MEALS
a small portion of the rice and other dishes prepared for
him.
The following are the principal rules which he is enjoined
to observe while taking his meal ; but for the most part
they are neglected : —
After his food has been served the Brahmin pours a little
water round the food, then traces a square patch with
a thin stream of water, puts a little rice in the middle,
and says : ' Glory to Narayana ! ' sprinkling over it a few
drops of water. He also places a little rice on each of
the corners of the square, saying successively : ' Glory to
Vishnu ! Glory to the god of evil spirits (Siva) ! Glory
to the god of the earth (Brahma) ! Glory to the earth ! '
repeating each time, ' I offer him this rice.' On the rice
that he is going to eat he places either some leaves of the
tulasi ', or a few of the flowers that he offered in the
preceding sacrifice. He then traces a circular patch with
a thin stream of water, and puts some rice in the centre.
This is an offering to the evil spirits.
Pouring a little water into the hollow of his hand, he
drinks it as a foundation for the meal he is about to make.
He takes a little rice soaked in melted butter and puts it
into his mouth, saying : ' Glory to the wind which dwells
in the chest ! ' At the second mouthful, ' Glory to the
wind which dwells in the face ! ' At the third, ' Glory to
the wind which dwells in the throat ! ' At the fourth,
' Glory to the wind which dwells in the whole body ! '
At the fifth, • Glory to those noisy ebullitions which escape
above and below ! '
Sannyasis, penitents, and widows may not eat anything
in the evening. Should they do so they w r ould be guilty
of a crime equal to that of killing a Brahmin. The most
minute attention must be paid to food ; but the chief point,
and the most laudable without doubt, is to see that the
cooking is done with perfect cleanliness. This duty gener-
ally devolves on the women, though most Brahmins pride
themselves on being good cooks. The room set apart for
cooking operations is, as far as possible, the most retired
room in the house, so that strangers, and particularly
Sudras, may not be able to look in, as that would defile
! The basil plant, Ocimum sanctum, — Ei>.
LEAVES USED AS PLATES 247
the earthen vessels. The spot must be well purified to
begin with by rubbing the floor over with cow-dung mixed
with water. The clothing of the persons who do the work
must have been freshly washed.
The Brahmin being seated on the ground, his wife places
a banana leaf in front of him, or the leaves of other trees
sewn together to serve as plates. She pours a few drops
of water on them, and then helps the rice, putting the other
dishes on each side. To flavour the rice they pour upon
it melted butter, for which Brahmins have a particular
fondness, or they flavour it with a kind of sauce so highly
spiced that no European palate could stand its pungency.
Everything is helped as well as eaten with the fingers
only. Should however the dishes be very hot the wife
may use a wooden spoon so as not to burn herself.
When a Brahmin or any other Hindu eats, those whom
he has invited are allowed to be present. As a rule it is
considered the height of rudeness to look at any one who
is eating, and Hindus who are obliged when travelling to
take their meals in rest-houses, or under trees, are very
careful to hang up screens round the place where they eat
so as not to be seen.
As soon as the husband has finished his meal the wife
takes hers on the same plate, upon which, as a proof of his
affection for her, the husband will leave a few scraps.
She, for her part, will show no repugnance at eating the
fragments that he has left. The following story, which
I read in some Indian book, illustrates this : —
' An old Brahmin was so badly attacked by leprosy
that one day a joint of one of his fingers dropped off while
he was eating, and fell on his leaf-plate. When his wife's
turn came to take her food, she contented herself with
simply putting this piece of finger on one side, and ate up
the remains that her husband had left without showing the
smallest repugnance. The Brahmin, who was watching
her, was so delighted with such a proof of her devotion
that, after overwhelming her with praise, he asked her
what she would like as a reward. ' Alas ! ' she said in
a melancholy tone, ' what reward can I hope for % I am
young and childless, and perhaps soon 1 may find myself
one of the hated and despised class of widows ! ' ' No,'
248 A REMEDY FOR INDIGESTION
answered the Brahmin, ' you shall not go unrewarded.
I will arrange for your happiness.' Accordingly the
Brahmin, being a holy man and much beloved by the
gods, in spite of his leprosy, was granted the favour of re-
incarnation and was allowed to live with his wife as long
as she and he desired. In the enjoyment of abundant
riches, and of all the gifts that nature can bestow, they
saw three generations pass away, being reborn each time
they reached the ordinary term of human life. Moreover
as a climax to their happiness they had numerous children
with each new life. At last, tired of this life, they both
died, and were transported to the Sattya-loka or paradise
of Brahma.' But to return to our subject.
XV. His meal over, the Brahmin washes his hands and
rinses his mouth. He must also gargle his throat twelve
times.
XVI. He takes some leaves of the tulasi which he had
offered before his meal to his household gods, and bringing
to his mind the thought of either the penitent Agastya or
the giant Kumbhakarna he swallows these leaves, by
doing which he ensures a good digestion for the meal just
eaten and wards off any illness l .
XVII. He gives betel and areca-nut to the poor Brah-
mins invited to dinner and dismisses them. He then
spends some time reading devotional books.
XVIII. His reading finished, he puts some betel into his
mouth, and is then free to look after his ordinary business
or to go and see his friends, taking care all the time not to
covet either the goods or the wives of others.
XIX. Towards sunset he returns for the third time to
the river and performs the evening sandhya, repeating the
ceremonies of the morning and midday.
XX. On his return home he performs the homam for the
second time, and reads some Puranas. He again goes
through the hari-smarana, which, as we have already
described, consists in reciting the litanies to Vishnu and
pronouncing his thousand names aloud.
XXI. He then visits the temple nearest to his house,
1 Agastya is the dwarf Rishi, who is said to have swallowed the ocean
in three gulps. Kumbhakarna is a giant famous for his voracious
appetite. — Ed.
RULES ABOUT SLEEPING 240
but he must never present himself there empty-handed.
He must take as an offering either oil for the lamp, cocoa-
nuts, bananas, camphor, or incense, &c, of which the sacri-
fices are composed. If he is very poor he must at least bring
some betel leaves.
XXII. If the temple is dedicated to Vigneshwara
(Pillayar) he walks round it once, after which, turning
towards the god, he takes the lobe of his left ear in his
right hand and the lobe of his right ear in his left hand,
and in this jiosition squats down on his heels three times ;
lie then strikes himself gently on both his temples. If the
shrine is dedicated to Siva he walks round it twice, and
three times if it is consecrated to Vishnu.
XXIII. Having performed his religious duties he returns
home, takes his evening meal, observing the usual cere-
monies, and goes to bed soon afterwards. A Brahmin
must purify the place where he is going to sleep by rubbing
it over with cow-dung, and he must manage so that the
place cannot be overlooked by any one.
A Brahmin must never sleep on a mountain, in a grave-
yard, in a temple, in any place where they do puja, in any
place dedicated to evil spirits, under the shadow of a tree,
on ground that has been tilled, in a cowshed, in the house
of his guru, in any spot that is higher than that where the
image of some god happens to be, any place where there
happens to be ashes, holes made by rats, or where snakes
generally live. He must also take care not to spend the
night in houses where the servants are insolent, for fear of
some accident.
A Brahmin puts a vessel full of water and a weapon near
where he lays his head. He rubs his feet, washes his
mouth twice, and then lies down.
A Brahmin must never go to bed with his feet wet, nor
sleep under the beam which supports the roof of the house \
He must avoid sleeping with his face turned to the west
or north. If it is impossible to arrange it otherwise it
would be better to be turned towards the north than
towards the west. When lying down he offers worship to
the earth, to Vishnu, to Nandikeswara, one of the chief
1 This is said to be a necessary precaution, as on these beams snakes
are often to be found. — Eo.
250 PRAYERS AT BED-TIME
spirits who guard Siva, and to the bird garuda (Brahminy
kite), to whom he makes the following prayers : —
' Illustrious son of Kasyapa and Vinata ! king of birds,
with beauteous wings and sharp-pointed beak ; you who
are the enemy of snakes, preserve me from their poison ! '
He who repeats this prayer when he goes to bed, when
he rises, and after his ablutions, will never be bitten by
a snake. Here is another and most efficacious prayer
which they are supposed to make a rule of saying before
going to bed. It bears the name of kalasa, and is addressed
to those evil spirits, Siva's guardians. While repeating it
the right hand must be placed over the various parts of the
body as they are mentioned : —
' May my head be preserved from all accidents by
Bhairava, my forehead by Bishana, my ears by Bhuta
Karma, my face by Preta-Vahana, my thighs by Bhuta
Karta, my shoulders by the Ditis who are endowed with
supernatural strength, my hands by Kapalini who wears
round his neck a chaplet of human skulls, my chest by
Santa, my belly, lips, and two sides by Ketrika, the back
of my body by Kadrupala, my navel by Kshetraja, my
sexual organs by Vatu, my ankles by Siddha Vatu, and the
rest of my body from my head to my feet by Surakara,
my body to my waist by Vidatta, and from below my
waist by Yama ! May the fire which receives the worship
of all the gods preserve me from all evil in whatever place
I may happen to be ! May the wives of the demons watch
over my children, my cattle, my horses, my elephants !
May Vishnu watch over my country, and may the God
who takes care of all things also take care of me, par-
ticularly when I find myself in some place which is not
under the protection of my divinity ! '
Whoever recites this prayer every evening when going to
bed will come to no harm. It suffices to wear it on the arm,
to write it, and to read it, to become rich and live happily.
XXIV. Finally, the Brahmin must again think of Vishnu,
and this should be his last thought before sleeping.
Section V. — Second Part of the Sandhya. Mantrams or
Prayers, according to the Yagur Veda ritual.
If for any reason the Brahmin Grahastha is unable to
THE MORNING SANDHYA 251
perform the ablutions that form part of the first part of
the sandhya, he must at any rate try to accomplish the
second part by attentively and devoutly repeating the
prayers that belong to it. He first stands with his face
to the east or towards the sun. He begins by knotting
the little lock of hair which grows on the top of his head,
then he takes a little darbha grass in his left hand, and in
his right hand a larger quantity which he cuts to the length
of his palm.
The Morning Sandhya.
He begins his religious exercises with the following
prayer : —
Apavitraha pavitrova sarva vastam,
Gatopiva yassmaret pundareekaksham,
Sabahiabhiantara suchihy.
This means : ' Whether a man be pure or impure, or in
whatsoever station in life he may find himself, if he thinks
of him who has eyes like the lotus l he shall be pure within
and without.'
He then prays to the water in the following words : —
' Water of the sea, of the rivers, of tanks, of wells, and
of any other place whatsoever, hear favourably my prayers
and vows ! As the traveller, fatigued with the heat, finds
rest and comfort under a tree's shade, so may I find in
you solace and assistance in all my ills, and pardon for all
my sins !
' Water ! you are the eye of sacrifice and battle !
You have an agreeable flavour ; you have the bowels of
a mother for us, and all her feelings towards us ! I call
upon you with the same confidence with which a child at
the approach of danger flies to the arms of a loving mother.
Cleanse me from my sins, and all other men of their sins.
Water ! at the time of the Flood Brahma the omniscient,
whose name is spelt with one letter, existed alone, and
existed under your form. This Brahma brooding over you
and mingling with you 2 did penance, and by the merits
of his penance created night. The waters which covered
1 That is, Vishnu.
2 These words recall the words of the second verse of the first chapter
of Genesis. — Dubois.
252 PRAYERS TO VARIOUS DEITIES
the earth were drawn into one place and formed the sea.
Out of the sea were created the day, the years, the sun,
the moon, and Brahma with his four countenances. Brahma
created anew the firmament, the earth, the air, the smaller
worlds, and everything that was in existence before the
Flood.'
This prayer ended, the Brahmin sprinkles a few drops
of water on his head from three stalks of the sacred darbha
grass.
Whoever in the morning shall address these prayers to
water, and shall be duly impressed with their import, will
surely receive remission of his sins.
Then clasping his hands, the Brahmin says : —
' Vishnu ! your eyes are like a flower ! I offer you my
worship. Pardon my sins ; I perform the sandhya to keep
my good name and dignity as a Brahmin.' He then recalls
to mind the names of the greater and lesser worlds and
the divinities who inhabit them, particularly the fire, the
wind, and the sun, also Brihaspati, Indra, and the gods
of the earth.
After that he puts his right hand on his head, and recalls
to his memory the names of Brahma, of the wind, and of
the sun. He then shuts his eyes, and at the same time
closing his right nostril with his thumb, he invokes the god
Brahma in these words : —
1 Come, Brahma, come to my navel, and stay, stay there
a long time.'
He then fancies to himself that this powerful god is seated
on his navel ; that the deity is red in colour, having four
faces and two arms, a cord round his waist, holding a
pitcher in his hand, riding on a goose, and accompanied by
a multitude of divinities. He then thinks of him as having
had no beginning, as possessing the key to all knowledge
and being able to grant all the desires of mankind, and
especially as the head guru of Brahmins, endowed with the
fullest power to purify and sanctify them ; finally as the
Creator of all things, and as an eternal being. After which
he says : —
' Glory to the earth ! Glory to the greater worlds 1 ! '
1 There are seven greater worlds, the names of which are Bhu, Bhuvar,
Svar, Mahar, Janar, Tapah, Sattya. The first is the earth, the last the
INVOCATIONS TO VISHNU AND SIVA 253
(These lie mentions by name, and thinks of them as all
lighted by the sun.) ' May my heart and my will be drawn
to the path of virtue ; may my desires be fulfilled in this
life and in the next. To you, Brahma, who have created
water, light, amritam, &c, to you I offer adoration.'
This prayer finished, he breathes heavily through his
left nostril, and thereby puts to flight all the sins contained
in his body. Then, closing the left nostril with either the
thumb or the middle finger of the right hand, he thinks of
Vishnu, whom he addresses in these terms : —
' Come, Vishnu, come to my chest, and stay there, stay
there, stay there a long time.'
He then fancies Vishnu seated on his chest. This god is
brown in colour, he has four arms, he carries a shell in one
hand, the weapon called sankha in another, in the third
a cholera, and in the fourth a lotus. He rides on the bird
of prey garuda, The Brahmin thinks of him as omnipresent
in the fourteen worlds and upholding everything by his
power. Then he says : —
1 Glory to the lesser worlds l ! ' (These he mentions by
their names.) ' I think of them, of water, and of amritam.'
By virtue of this prayer all his sins are blotted out.
He then thinks of Siva, whom he invokes as follows : —
' Come, Siva, come to my forehead ! Stay, stay, stay
there a long time.'
He imagines Siva seated on his forehead. This god is
white ; he carries the trisula or trident in one hand, and
a small drum in the other ; on his forehead is a new moon.
He has five faces, and each face has three eyes ; he rides
on an ox. He is represented further as the god self-creating
and self-sufficient, as the universal destroyer. Then the
Brahmin says : —
' Glory to all the lesser worlds ! ' (These he mentions by
name.)
Then he adds, speaking to Siva : ' Destroyer of everyi
thing in the fourteen worlds, destroy my sins also.'
paradise of Brahma. They always add the word loka, which means
a place (locus). — Ed.
1 There are seven lesser worlds, the names of which are Atala, Vitala,
Sutala, Rasatala, Talatala, Mahatala, Patala. The last is the infernal
regions, the lowest of all. — Ed.
254 PRAYER TO THE SUN
Whoever repeats this prayer, and makes the foregoing
meditation, will assuredly obtain pardon of all his sins
and be saved. However, as men are liable to fall into
innumerable sins, they can hardly do too much to ensure
their being forgiven, and the stain of their wickedness
removed. The Brahmin therefore addresses the following
prayer to the sun : —
' sun ! who art prayer itself and the god of prayer :
forgive me all the sins that I have committed while praying,
all those that I have committed during the night by thought,
word, and deed ; forgive me all those that I have committed
against my neighbour by slander or false witness, by violat-
ing or seducing another man's wife, by eating forbidden
food, by receiving presents from a man of low caste, in
a word, all sins of any kind into which I may have fallen
by night or by day.'
Whoever addresses this prayer to the sun, and is filled
with the conviction of what he is saying and performs the
achamania at the same time, will be absolved from all
his sins and will go after his death to the abode of the
sun.
To perform the achamania he must hold some water in
the hollow of his right hand, and put it three times to his
mouth. He must touch the under part of his nose with
the back of his thumb ; then joining his thumb and first
finger together he must touch both his eyes, then joining
all the other fingers together to his thumb he must touch
his ears, his navel, his chest, his head, and both shoulders.
And before putting the water to his mouth he must always
be careful to purify it by repeating over it the following
prayer : ' Water ! you are of a good taste,' &c, as men-
tioned before. Passing his hand three times above his
head he lets fall a few drops of water on it, and then thrice
pours a little on the ground. He draws a long breath,
and thus ejects all the sins in his body. He must then
recite the prayer which begins with the words : ' O water !
at the time of the Flood,' &c, as cited above.
Water should be looked upon as the Supreme Being,
and as such adoration is offered to it. Nothing is more
efficacious than water to cleanse men from their sins.
Therefore one cannot perform one's daily ablutions too
THE GODDESS GAYATRI 255
often ; or at least touch water and think of it, and so obtain
a remission of sin. After having thus worshipped, the
Brahmin draws a little water into his nostrils, and then
shoots it out again. With this water the sinful man also
falls to the ground and is crushed under the left heel.
Then turning to the east, the Brahmin stands on tiptoe.
Raising slightly his hands, the palms turned towards
heaven, he makes the following prayer to the sun : —
' Sun ! fire is born of you, and from you the gods
derive their splendour ; you are the eye of the world and
the light of it ! '
Nothing is more efficacious than this prayer, accompanied
by adorations, for turning aside anything that may bring
sorrow, or sin, or pain, and for protection against un-
toward accident. He must add, still addressing the sun : —
' Glory to Brahma, Supreme Being ! Glory to the
Brahmins ! Glory to the Penitents ! Glory to the gods !
Glory to the Vedas ! Glory to Vishnu ! Glory to the
winds ! '
While reciting this prayer he offers the tarpana, that is,
a libation of water, to such of these gods as he names and
to all the gods in general. He puts under his feet a stalk
of darbha grass, and standing upright, on one foot if possible,
he recites the famous gayatri mantram, which is as follows 1 : —
' Come, goddess, come and make me happy. You who
are the voice of Brahma, whose name is formed of three
letters ; who are the mother of the Vedas, who are also
the mother of Brahma ; I offer you my adoration.' He
who thus invokes the goddess gayatri three times a day
will thereby be purified from all his sins.
He then pronounces the monosyllable aum, and cracks
his fingers ten times while turning round. This is to scare
away giants and evil spirits. He must then think again
of the goddess gayatri. In the morning he must picture
her to himself as a young girl of extraordinary beauty,
resembling Brahma in appearance, riding on a goose, holding
1 The gayatri mantram, as we have already observed, is the most
sacred, the most sublime, the most meritorious, and the most efficacious
of all the mantrams of the Brahmins. They have deified this prayer,
until they have come to look upon it not only as a mantram, but as an
actual goddess itself. — Dubois.
266 AN EFFICACIOUS MANTRAM
in her hand a stalk of darbha grass, dwelling in the sun's
face and in the ritual of the Yajur Veda. Having thus
pictured her in his mind, he prostrates himself before her.
He then addresses Vishnu in these words : ' Vishnu !
your eyes are like a flower,' &c, as before.
To recite the gayatri without having previously offered
homage to Vishnu would be labour lost. Such a lapse
would indeed be a source of sin. They count on their
fingers the number of times that they recite the gayatri.
The hands should be held aloft and covered over with
a cloth, so that no one can see how many repetitions have
been made. They say it in a low voice so that no one
can hear them. The following is the text of this sublime
prayer : —
Aum ! Glory to Patala ! Glory to the Earth ! Glory
to Swarga ! I think of the splendid light of the Sun.
May he deign to turn my heart and my soul towards the
path of virtue, and to the blessings of this world and of
the next l ! '
Every Brahmin ought to recite this mantram from a
thousand to ten thousand times daily. He may, if self-
indulgent, repeat it only a hundred or even only twenty
limes, but in no case less than eight times.
It is by virtue of this prayer that Brahmins become like
Brahma, and after their death share his happiness. It is
so extremely efficacious that its fervent repetition will
blot out the most heinous sins, such for instance as having
1 This form does not seem to agree altogether with the original text
given in the chapter on mantrams. I think the explanation is that there
are several forms of gayatri, which vary according to the Vedas from
which they are taken. — Dubois.
One would think from the Abbe's description of the gayatri that it
was a meaningless mantram, but the Hindus assert that in it is summed
up their highest philosophy. The following is the text of the gayatri,
with its translation : —
Aum, bhur, bhiivah, suvah !
Aum, tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat,
Aum, earth, sky, heaven !
Aum, that excellent vivifier
The light divine, let us meditate upon,
Which (light) enlightens our understanding. — Ep.
SUNDRY PRAYERS 257
killed a Brahmin or a pregnant woman, drunk intoxicat-
ing liquors, or betrayed one's most intimate friend, &c.
The Brahmin then dismisses the goddess in these terms : —
' I have prayed to you, illustrious goddess, to obtain
remission of my sins. Forgive me them, and grant that
after my death I may enjoy the delights of Vaikuntha.
You have Brahma's face ; you are Brahma himself. It
is you who have created, who preserve, and who destroy
everything. Grant that I may be happy in this world,
that joy, wealth, and prosperity may always be my portion,
and that after my death my lot may be still happier and
more lasting ! Return, goddess, after having granted
me this favour, return to your usual dwelling-place ! '
He offers her tarpana, or the libation of water, as also
to the sun and to the planet Venus, saying : —
' Glory to the sun and to the planet Venus ! May the
water that I now offer you find favour in your sight ! '
He finally addresses this prayer to fire : —
' fire ! listen to what I am about to say ! Burn my
enemies, and those who speak evil of the Vedas ! The
number of my sins is like a sea of fire, without bottom
and without shore, ready to consume me. I implore your
mercy, and may it be to me a means of salvation ! '
He then evokes Rudra (Siva), whose countenance is like
that of time and of fire, and says to him : —
' You are the Veda, you are the truth ! You are the
Supreme Being ! Your face is marvellous ! You are the
face of the world ! I offer you adoration.' Then he
says : —
' Glory to Brahma ! Glory to water ! Glory to the god
Varuna ! Glory to Vishnu ! '
He offers the tarpana to each of these gods, and then to
the sun, to whom he says :—
' Illustrious son of Kasyapa, you resemble a lovely
flower ! You are the enemy of darkness ; through you
all our sins are forgiven. I offer you my worship as to the
greatest of gods ; deign to receive it graciously.' Finally,
he turns round three times in honour of the sun, and makes
him a profound bow.
258 THE NOONDAY SANDHYA
The Noonday Sandhya l .
The Brahmin, having performed his ablutions and tied
up the little lock of hair on the top of his head, traces one
of the usual marks on his forehead, and turning towards
the east, says : —
1 Vishnu ! the gods delight to look on the beauties of
your dwelling-place ; the sight charms them, they are never
tired of beholding it, they open wide their eyes, the better
to be able to contemplate it ! '
Then, addressing the sun, he says : ' God of light ! God
of the day ! You are the god of the planets and of all
that has life ; you are the god who purifies men and blots
out all their transgressions, accept the worship that I offer
to you ! '
He then says : —
' Glory to the lesser worlds ! Glory to Swarga ! Glory
to the earth ! Glory to Maha-loka ! Glory to Tapo-loka !
Glory to Yama-loka ! Glory to Sattya-loka ! It is by the
almighty power of the sun, the Supreme Being, that water,
light, amrita, Brahma with the four faces, and everything
that exists, have been created.'
Putting his left thumb on his right hand, he says : —
' May everything in me, be it good or bad, commendable
or blameworthy, be purified bv the sun, the Supreme
Being ! '
By virtue of this prayer his sins are dried up. Then,
closing up both his nostrils, he carries his thoughts back
to Krishna, the son of Nanda. This thought causes sin
to tremble. He must picture sin to himself under the form
of a black man with a horrible face. Then, putting his
thumb to his left nostril, he recalls Siva, and says : —
1 Siva, who are the chief of evil spirits, save me from
punishment and put my sins to flight with your trident ! '
Breathing strongly through his left nostril, he performs
the achamania, and says : —
' The water purifies the earth ; may the earth which
has been purified by the water take away all the sins
which I may have committed — by eating after another
person, by partaking of forbidden food, by receiving gifts
1 This is really called Madhya-Vandana. — Ed.
SUNDRY INVOCATIONS 269
from a man of low caste or from a sinful person. I pray
that the water may purify me from all sin, whatsoever it
may be.' He performs the achamania twice more, for
nothing washes away sin more surely than water. Every
Brahmin should therefore perform achamania ; for by this
act alone not only will all his sins be remitted, even to the
murder of a Brahmin or of a pregnant woman, but further
it also makes him sinless for all time to come. He then
takes three stalks of darbha grass, and sprinkles some drops
of water on his head with it ; but he must first purify the
water by reciting over it the gayatri and the following
mantrams : — ' water ! who are spread on the bosom of
the earth, grant that I may perform the sandhya, so that,
being purified by it, I may perform puja ! ' '0 water !
you have a good taste,' &c, and so on as before. He
sprinkles some water with the three stalks of darbha grass,
first on the earth and then on his head. He who in addition
to the above recites the following prayer, may be assured
that all his desires will be gratified, that he will live in the
midst of plenty and be happy : — ' water ! you are in
everything that has life, in all quarters of the world, even
on the tops of the highest mountains. You are of super-
lative excellence, you are the light, you are the amrita ! '
He then rises, and filling both his hands with water, pours
it on the ground, saying : —
' Glory to Patala ! Glory to the Earth ! Glory to
Swarga ! ' Then, turning to the sun, and raising his hands
on high, he says : —
' Sun ! you are the will of the gods, you are the
opposite of water ! You are the eye of the gods Mitra,
Varuna, and of Fire ; you shine in Swarga, on the earth,
and everywhere ! ' He then repeats the prayer which
begins with these words : —
k Glory to Brahma, the Supreme Being ! ' &c, and so
on as before.
He places one or two stalks of darbha grass under his
feet, and evokes the gayatri in these words : —
* Come, goddess, come and shower your favours upon
me ! You are the word of Brahma, the mother of the
Vedas : it is from you that Brahma was born. I offer
you puja ! You are the mother of Brahmins. It is you
260 THE VYAHRITI
who bear the engine of the world, and carry the weight
thereof. It is through your protection that men live
peacefully in the world, for by your care all evil, fear,
and danger are kept far from them. It is through you
that men become virtuous, and it is from you that puja
derives its efficacy. You are eternal ! Hasten, great
goddess, and answer my prayer ! '
It is by virtue of this prayer that the gods have attained
to Swarga ; that snakes penetrate into the bowels of the
earth, and float in the midst of the waters ; that fire
possesses the power of burning ; that Brahmins, grown
like to the gods, merit daily to receive worship and sacri-
fice from other men in acknowledgement of their sur-
passing knowledge and virtue. He repeats the invocation
to the sun, and purifies himself in pronouncing the sacred
word aura. Then he performs the vyahriti in the following
manner : —
' Glory to Patala ! ' (he puts his hands to his head).
' Glory to the Earth ! ' (he puts his hands on the tuft of
hair on the top of his head).
' Glory to Swarga ! ' (he touches himself all over his
body).
Then he exclaims, * Aum-bhatu ! ' at the same time
cracking his fingers ten times whilst turning round, and he
stamps the ground with his left heel to scare away giants
and evil spirits.
He evokes the gayatri afresh, whom now at noon he
represents to himself under the image of Vishnu, in the
prime of life, clothed in a golden robe, and dwelling in the
sun's face. He then recites the gayatri mantram the proper
number of times, exactly as before described, and then he
dismisses the deity, saying : —
' You are born of Siva's face ; you dwell in the bosom
of Vishnu ; you are known of Brahma ; go, goddess,
whither you will ! You are Brahma, the Supreme Being ;
you receive the worship of Vishnu ; you are the life of
Brahmins ; their fate is in your hands ; it is in your power
to give them happiness in this world and in the next ;
give me many children, and may I always have abundance
of wealth. Illustrious mother ! I have offered you puja ;
now depart whither it seemeth good ! '
PRAISING THE GODDESS GAYATRI 261
Nevertheless he says yet another prayer to her : —
1 Divine wife of Narayana ! preserve me from any pain
in my head, face, tongue, nose, nostrils, ears, shoulders,
thighs, feet, and in any part of my body ; preserve me
from pain day and night ! '
He thus sings the gayatrVs praises : —
1 You are quick-witted ; you are enlightenment itself ;
you are not subject to human passions ; you are eternal ;
you are almighty ; you are purity itself ; you are the
refuge and salvation of mankind ; you are omniscient ;
you are the mother of all the Vedas, of which you are the
emblem ; you are also the emblem of prayer. It is to
you that all sacrifices must be offered ; all earthly bless-
ings are at your disposal ; in an instant you can destroy
everything. Happiness and misery, joy and sorrow, hope
and fear are in your hands ; everything is dependent on
you. All men pray to you, and at the same time your
fascinations cast a spell over them. You fulfil all their
desires, and overwhelm them with benefits ; to you they
owe success in all their undertakings ; you put away their
sins ; you make them happy ; you are present in all three
worlds ; you have three bodies and three faces, and the
numeral three is of your very essence ! '
He who thus sings the gayatri's praises will receive his
reward ; all his sins will be forgiven.
Casting his eyes on liquefied butter, he says : ' O butter !
you are the light ; by your power everything shines ; you
are the friend of the gods ; you form part of the sacrifices
that are offered to them, you are the essence of these
sacrifices ! '
Then, addressing the gayatri anew, he says : ' You can
be divided into two, three, and four parts ; nothing can
equal your brilliancy ; I offer you puja ! ' He adds : —
' goddess, who dwell on the mountains of the North,
you are known to Brahma ! Go now whither you will,
you are the sacrificer of the sacrifice. It is you who offer
it, it is you who receive it. It is you who regulate the
offerings, it is you who make them, it is you who receive
them ; you have yielded the north-east to Siva, and you
have taken up your abode in the north-west. If we
enjoy light, it is you to whom we owe it, to you who have
202 THK ARGHYA OFFERING
granted it to us that we may by its aid fulfil our religious
duties ! '
He addresses the fire in these words : —
' fire ! come here ; I have need of you for puja ; offer
it yourself, since you are the emblem of it ! '
He says to the water : —
1 water ! remain on the earth, for the use of us who
require you : remain that we may drink you, and come
down abundantly to fertilize our land ! '
Whoever repeats all these prayers at the midday sandhya
will have all his wishes gratified and obtain pardon for all
his sins.
He again addresses the gayatri as follows : — ' I worship
you, goddess, under the image of Brahma. You are the
mother of the world ; Brahmins offer you pitja, and in
return enjoy your favours. You have the outward appear-
ance of a stone ; but you are indeed the creator, preserver,
and destroyer of everything ! '
He offers arghya to the sun. To this end he puts water
and red flowers, some darbha grass, some sandalwood
powder, and some mustard seed into a plated copper
vessel. While mixing all these together, he says : —
1 sun ! you are the most brilliant of all the stars !
Vishnu borrows his splendour from you ! You are pure
and you purify men ; I offer you worship ! Glory to the
sun ! I offer him this arghya ! '
Such, then, is the noonday sandhya. It is a religious
exercise which must never be omitted, but if for any reason
one fails to perform it, one must do penance before per-
forming the evening sandhya. This penance consists in
repeating the gayatri ten times, and offering arghya to the
sun.
A Brahmin who does not perform the sandhya regularly
is not permitted to fulfil any other act of religious wor-
ship. It would be quite fruitless for him to offer puja,
or sraddha (the sacrifice for the dead), or to fast or to
pray.
The inestimable advantages which the gayatri mantram
procures are proportionate to the number of times it is
repeated. Thus for a thousand repetitions you would
obtain success in all your undertakings ; for ten thousand,
THE EVENING SANDHYA 263
the forgiveness of sins and abundance of this world's
goods ; for twenty thousand, the spirit of wisdom and the
gift of knowledge ; for a hundred thousand, the supreme
grace of becoming a Vishnu after death.
It is considered most meritorious to solemnly undertake
to recite the gayatri for a certain fixed time daily, the
credit gained thereby being graduated according to the
length of time devoted to the exercise. It depends, that
is to say, on the choice that one makes of the three follow-
ing periods : (1) from sunrise to sunset ; (2) from sunrise
to noon ; and (3) at intervals of about three hours.
Any Brahmin who makes such a vow calls together
a certain number of his fellow-Brahmins, and says in their
presence : —
' To-day being such and such a day of such and such
a month, I, so-and-so Brahmin, of such and such country
and family, being desirous of averting all danger from myself,
of growing in virtue, and of obtaining the delights of Swarga
after my death, hereby call all present to witness that
I vow to recite the gayatri every day from such an hour
till such an hour.'
The Evening Sandhya.
Brahmins begin this sandhya about sunset, but it must
not be performed on the day of the sankranti, that is to
say, on the day that the sun moves from one sign of the
Zodiac to another, nor on the days of the new and full
moon, nor on the twelfth day of the moon, nor yet on the
day on which one has offered the sacrifice for the dead
called sraddha. To perform the evening sandhya under
these circumstances would be committing a crime equal
to the murder of a Brahmin. If a Brahmin has just lost
his father, his mother, or one of his children ; if his gums
bleed, or if through a wound or accident any part of his
body above the navel lias been bleeding, or in a word if
he finds that he is impure, he would commit an unpardon-
able sin by performing the evening sandhya. Indeed, in
the last case he would lose all his possessions and his
children. Except under these special circumstances, he
must never neglect this religious duty, and he must care-
fully observe the following rules : —
264 PRAYERS TO VARIOUS DEITIES
Ho makes the usual ablutions. Then, turning to the
north, he reealls the memory of Vishnu. He then
thinks of Brahma and addresses the following prayer to
him : —
' Brahma, you have four faces, you are my creator !
Forgive me all the sins that I have committed. I am now
beginning the evening sandhya. Deign to be present, and
repose on my chest, and deliver me from my sins.'
He then recites the mantram which begins with these
words : — ' Glory to the lesser worlds ! ' and so on as before.
Closing up both nostrils, he thinks of Vishnu, and imagines
that he is resting on his navel, and says : ' Vishnu !
you are of great stature and black in colour. You have
four arms, you are the preserver of all that exists ; destroy
my sins.' He offers worship to the seven greater worlds,
as in the morning sandhya, and again addressing Vishnu,
he says : ' You have created light, amrita, and all that is
used for the food of mankind. Preserve me, and preserve
all that lives in the world ! ' Closing the right nostril with
his finger, he breathes strongly through the left, and by
this means burns all the sins that are in his body. Then
he ejects them by breathing forcibly through the right
nostril. He then directs his thoughts to Siva, the destroyer
of sin and of all things, and imagines that he is resting on
his forehead. He says to him : ' Siva ! you are white
and tall. You have the mark of a half- moon on your
forehead ; you have three eyes ; you destroy all things ;
you are the god of gods ; I implore your protection, and
offer you worship ! ' He once more offers puja to the
different worlds, and destroys his sins by virtue of the
following prayer : — ' Oh, may my sins be destroyed by the
almighty power of the sun and the fire ! ' He adds : ' O
fire ! you are prayer and the god of prayer. Forgive me
all the mistakes I have made in the different mantrams that
I have recited ; and forgive me, besides, all the sins that
I have this day committed in thought, word, and deed.
May this water, which I drink from my uplifted hand,
destroy everything bad and sinful that may be in me.'
He performs the achamania as at the morning sandhya.
He also inhales some purified water into his nostrils, as
he did before, and recites the mantram which begins with
THE MAN OF SIN 265
the words : ' O water ! at the time of the Flood,' &c,
and so on, as before mentioned.
Then lie ejects by a forcible expiration the water in his
nostrils, which carries away the sinful man, whom he
crushes at once upon a stone. He represents this man of
sin to himself as a powerful being, of extraordinary strength,
with a red belly, white hair and beard, and a hideous and
distorted face \
He evokes the gayatri, and turning to the west, he
says : —
' god of the day, on whom depends the happiness of
mankind, I offer the evening sandhya : deign to honour me
with your presence ! O goddess gayatri, who are the
emblem of the Vedas and the word of Brahma, whose
name is composed of three letters ! I offer you jmja ;
hasten hither that I may be happy ! '
Whilst making this prayer his hands are spread open and
raised towards heaven. He then rubs his hands together
and puts them to his breast, believing in imagination that
the gayatri is reposing there. He cracks his finger-joints
ten times, and turns round at the same moment ; and by
that he closes all places of egress, so that the goddess
cannot depart. He pictures her to himself as an old woman,
having Siva's face, riding on an ox, dwelling in the disk
of the sun, and united to all the Vedas. Then he says : —
' Divine wife of Siva ! you are the mother of all that is.
I offer you puja at the approach of night, take me under
your protection and save me ! Come, gayatri, come and
favourably hear my prayers ! '
Whoever recites these words will obtain all that he asks
1 Here is another portrait of a man of sin, culled from the Sama-
Veda : ' The murder of a Brahmin forms the head of the man of sin ;
drinking intoxicating liquors, the eyes ; theft, particularly of gold, the
face ; the murder of a guru, the ears ; the murder of a woman, the
nose ; the murder of a cow, the shoulders ; the rape of another man's
wife, the chest ; the wilful production of abortion, the neck ; oppression
of the innocent and just, the belly ; ill treatment of any one who has
sought protection, the stomach ; to slander your guru, violate a virgin,
betray a secret confided to you, or to be false to any one who has relied
on you, these arc the private parts and the thighs ; and the hairs of
these are the smaller sins. This man of sin is of gigantic stature, and
has a horrihle face ; he is black, and has wild bright eyes ; he delight p
in torturing mankind.' — Dubois.
K '6
266 CLOSING PRAYERS
for. Then, facing the north, with his arms hanging down,
he recites the gayatri mantram, in the same manner and the
same number of times as before. It is impossible to repeat
this prayer too often in the evening, evening prayers being
so much more efficacious than others. A Brahmin who
daily recites this prayer uninterruptedly from sunset to
midnight will by this pious exercise most assuredly place
himself beyond the possibility of want or misery, and will
ensure for himself a quiet and peaceful death, without
sickness or pain, when his long and prosperous career
shall draw to a close.
To dismiss the goddess gayatri he uses the same formulas
as those of the noonday sandhya, and, after the tarpaiia,
or libation of water, to the sun and the planet Venus, he
addresses Siva in these words : — ' Rudra ! protect me
from all accident and danger as well by night as by day.
You are the lord of the world ; take me under your pro-
tection that nothing may hurt me or do me harm.' The
prayer to fire follows ; then he offers tarpana to the follow-
ing gods, saying : ' Glory to Brahma ! Glory to water !
Glory to Varuna ! Glory to Vishnu ! Glory to Rudra ! '
While offering arghya to the sun, he says : ' God of light,
god of the day ! I offer you worship ! Receive the arghya
that I now present to j^ou, and deliver me from the cares
and dangers of the world ! '
Conclusion.
1 I will conclude,' the author goes on to say, ' by ex-
plaining what the sandhya is, and on what occasions it
should be offered.
' Brahma, the author and father of the Vedas, wishing
to extract the essence of them, composed the sandhya,
which is in respect to the other Vedas what butter is to
milk, or what gold is compared with the other metals. In
short, as honey is the quintessence of flowers, so the sandhya
is the quintessence of the Vedas.
' And as the sandhya is all that is most sublime in the
Vedas, so is the gayatri all that is most sublime in the
sandhya. This celebrated prayer obtains for mankind the
remission of their sins, plenty, joy, wealth, health, and
also ensures their happiness hereafter.
IMPOSING ON THE IGNOBANT 267
' They must beware of teaching this prayer to the de-
graded Sudras. Whoever dared to do so would assuredly
go to the infernal regions — he, his father, and his children ;
and if a Sudra happened to overhear a Brahmin repeating
it he would inevitably go to the same place and remain
there for all eternity.
■ I have said it, and I repeat it,' says the author, ' let
them beware of making it known to the Sudras, under
pain of eternal damnation.
1 No meditation, penance, sacrifice, knowledge, prayer,
can compare in efficacy to the gayatri mantram. Its
merits are superexcellent, but it must also be kept a pro-
found secret. It was Brahma himself who composed it
expressly for Brahmins.
' This is the idea which must be formed of the goddess
gayatri. Though she appears under the form of a prayer,
it must be recognized that she is the Supreme Being, and
she must be worshipped as such. Brahma, who composed
this mantram, taught it to Indra, who taught it to Yama ;
he in turn instructed Siva, who taught it to the Brahmins.'
Such are the prayers and ceremonials used by Brahmins
when performing the three sandhyas, and such are the
extravagant absurdities to which they are bound to con-
form.
The intense and mysterious solemnity with which they
perform all this ceremonial is intended to persuade others
that its end and object must be of the highest and most
vital importance ; the inner meaning being quite beyond
the reach of the vulgar and ignorant. Every care is taken
to strengthen this opinion ; and they use the greatest
precautions to exclude the searching eyes of educated
persons.
Though assured of the blind credulity of the ignorant
masses over whom they hold sway, they are well aware
that, if ever the spell should be broken, their charlatanism
and cupidity would stand revealed, and they would then
become the laughing-stock of the public.
If the sandhya really represents the cream of the Vedas,
I do not think that any European will regret the want of
a wider acquaintance with these famous books. As an
excuse for the fantastic folly of many of their religious
268 ALLEGED ALLEGORICAL RITES
performances Brahmins assert that some, if not all, are
only allegories, of which the inner meaning is more rational.
This may very likely be true ; but I am fully persuaded
that the tradition of this inner meaning has been lost.
There are beyond question very few Brahmins who would
be able to give even the most imperfect idea of what their
rites were originally intended to convey. It is an un-
doubted fact that the greater number of them have nothing
in their minds beyond the material and literal fulfilment
of the ridiculous ceremonies which they are in the habit
of performing. Take, for instance, their celebrated mys-
terious gayatri, of which each word, they aver, contains
a hidden meaning — a meaning, however, which is inter-
preted in as many different ways as there are castes and
sects l .
The first four sections of this chapter are taken from the
Nitya Karma, or Brahminical ritual. I was acquainted
with the second part of the sandhya when I first compiled
this work ; I had read a full description of its details in
a little manuscript of M. Pons, formerly a Jesuit missionary
in the Carnatic, who died about eighty years ago. He had
travelled all over Southern India, and was a good Sanskrit
scholar, having written a grammar of that language. But
the particulars which this learned man gave appeared to
me so extraordinary and so incredible, that I doubted their
authenticity and did not venture to use them. I after-
wards procured a book in Canara entitled Purohita-Asrama-
Karma, or ' The Religious Observances of a Brahmin
Purohita,' in which I found the same details in almost
exactly the same words. I consulted some Brahmins on
the subject, and they assured me that they were sub-
stantially correct, but that there were some mantrams and
ceremonies mentioned which were not in use in the Southern
Provinces, though they were used in the north. Indeed
I was assured the ceremonial and mantrams vary slightly
in different parts, according to the Veda and the sect of
those that follow them. But, according to my informants,
1 A Hindu would contend that the fact of the hidden meaning of the
mantrants having been lost does not make the mantrams absurd, but only
those who perform the ceremonies without understanding their mean-
ing.— Ed.
WHO PERFORM THE SANDHYA 269
most Brahmins neglect and are even altogether ignorant
of the greater part of them.
The Kshatriyas and the Vaisyas must also perform the
sandhya ; but it is not as obligatory for them, especially for
Vaisyas, as it is for Brahmins. Furthermore, the mantrams
and ceremonials of the latter are quite different, and not
nearly so numerous.
The Jains also perform the sandhya. As for the Sudras,
they can only make simple ablutions, without any prayers
or ceremonies ; but any one who wishes to be distinguished
from the vulgar herd, and to be considered a more exalted
person, rarely fails to perform the ablutions at least once
a day. To see them one would never think that those
who perform the sandhya are actuated in any way by a
spirit of devotion. The Brahmin gets through all these
ceremonies and repeats all these prayers as quickly as
possible ; he is like a schoolboy gabbling over a lesson he
has learnt by heart ; and this, like everything else, is all
performed perfunctorily and as a duty to be discharged
with all possible celerity.
CHAPTER VIII
Brahminical Fasts. — The Custom of Rubbing the Head and Body with
Oil. — The Over-indulgence of Brahmins. — Their Scrupulous Observ-
ance of Custom. — Reflections on this Subject. — Their Samara-
dhanas, or Public Feasts. — Sudra Feasts.
Brahmins are obliged to keep frequent and often pro-
longed fasts l . They are expected to accustom themselves
to them as indispensable adjuncts of their religion from
the day they assume the triple cord. Even old age, in-
firmity, or sickness, unless it be very serious, is not held
to exempt them from these fasts.
1 One is perpetually struck by the numerous points of resemblance
between the manners and customs of modern Brahmins and those of
the Pharisees, with which we have become acquainted through the
Holy Scriptures. Their lives are full of the same affectations, they
share the same dread of defilement, there are the same continual ablu-
tions and bathings, the same scrupulous attention to the outward
observance of the law, the same frequent fasts, &c. ; but all this is
tainted by overweening pride, ostentation, and hypocrisy. What
St. Matthew says of this sect (xxiii. 27) might certainly be applied without
injustice to the Brahmins of India. — Dubois.
270 BRAHMINICAL FAST-DAYS
On ordinary days the Brahmin Grahasiha may take two
meals ; one after midday, and one before going to bed.
But this rule has many exceptions. There are many days
on which he is allowed to take only one meal, about three
o'clock in the afternoon ; and there are others when he
may neither eat nor drink.
The days of the new and full moon are fast-days, as also
the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth days of each lunar month,
which are called the ekadasi vrata ; on the tenth and
twelfth days one meal may be taken, on the eleventh day,
called ekadasi, no meal at all is allowed. To fast on these
three days has a special merit \ As the fast which is kept
on the eleventh day of each lunar month is observed with
particular solemnity, I will give a few details of it in an
appendix 2 .
The thirteenth day of the moon is an unlucky day.
Brahmins must eat nothing on that day till sunset s . In
the evening, before taking their food, they offer puja to
Siva, to propitiate him, and then begin to eat.
The feast called Sivaratri (or ' Siva's Night ') falls on
the fourteenth day of the moon in the month of Maga
(February), the origin and particulars of which will be
seen in an appendix 4 . On that day no one must eat or
drink, or even sleep, for the whole twenty-four hours.
Every three hours during the day and night puja is offered
to Siva, and not until the following day, after having per-
formed the sandhya, are they at liberty to eat B .
On the ninth day of the lunar month Cheitra (April),
being the anniversary of the incarnation of the great god
Vishnu in the person of Rama, Brahmins may take only
one meal in the day, and that without rice ; they may
only eat peas, cakes, bananas, and cocoanuts 6 .
1 The eleventh day is the only strict fast-day, and it is observed only
by old and religiously disposed Brahmins and widows. The Madhva
Brahmins observe the fast more scrupulously than others nowadavs.
—Ed.
- Appendix II.
3 This fast is not generally observed nowadays. — Ed.
4 Appendix III.
5 This festival is only observed by followers of Siva, and never by
Vishnavites. — Ed.
6 This festival, though strictly speaking a Vishnavite festival, is also
observed by ordinary Sivaites. — Ed.
ANOINTING WITH OIL 271
On the eighth day of the month of Sravana (August),
the day of Vishnu's incarnation in the person of Krishna,
they are forbidden to take any food at all, and must give
themselves up to works of piety. They make clay images
of Krishna and his wife Rukmani, Satya Bhama, Bala-
Badra, Rohini, Vasu-Deva, Nanda, Devaki. At midnight
they offer puja to all these deities together, and for nei-
veddya they offer cocoanuts, bananas, coarse sugar, common
peas, peaflour, milk, and cakes. The next day, after the
sandhya, they can take their usual meals.
They must also fast on the anniversaries of the ten
Avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu ; on the days called
irmnuvadi, yugadi, sankranti ; on the days of eclipses ; at
the equinoxes, solstices, and the conjunction of planets,
and other unlucky days ; on the anniversary of the death
of father or mother ; on Sundays and several other days
during the year.
On fast-days a man is not allowed to have intercourse
with his wife ; the women are forbidden to rub their bodies
with powdered saffron and the men to anoint their heads
with oil. Wednesday and Saturday are the only days in
the week on which this cosmetic process may be indulged
in with advantage. To anoint yourself on other days
might produce serious consequences. For instance, if you
anoint yourself on Sunday, you run the risk of catching all
sorts of complaints ; if on Monday, that of losing your
personal attractions ; if on Tuesday, you will shorten your
life ; and if on Friday, you will probably become over-
whelmed with debts. Nevertheless, when the case is one
of urgent necessity, they may anoint themselves on one
of these days after taking certain precautions \
Whenever any one wishes to perform this operation, it
is necessary first to think of Asvatthama, of Bhali Chakra-
varti, of Veda-Vyasa, of Hanumanta, of Vibhishana, of
Krupacharia, and of Parasu-Rama. Dipping the tips of
his fingers in the oil, the anointer must let seven drops fall
on the ground, as a libation in honour of these seven per-
sonages. After that he may anoint his head in the usual
manner 2 .
1 These customs are not very strictly observed nowadays. — Ed.
2 The custom of oiling the body was very common among the Jews.
272 OVER-EATING AT MEALS
This libation is considered rather important. The seven
personages whose names have been mentioned are supposed
to require oil to anoint their heads ; it is only fair, therefore,
to give them a few drops. They, on their side, from feel-
ings of gratitude, grant long life and riches to whoever
shows them this mark of respect.
But to return to the fasts. The Brahmins do not appear
to feel the least inconvenience from enforced abstinence
from food. Neither is it a great hardship to them, for
from their early youth they are accustomed to eat nothing
till after midday. Besides, on these days of mortification
they take care to make up for the lateness of their meal
by the large quantity they eat when once they begin.
Habit has enabled Brahmins to overload their stomachs
with most indigestible food, without feeling any discomfort
or inconvenience. One often sees a Brahmin, after making
a hearty meal of rice and liquefied butter, eat the whole of
a huge jack-fruit \ which would be enough to give ten
Europeans violent indigestion.
These frequent fasts appear to form part of a dietary
system which has been misinterpreted in a religious sense ;
or more probably they are due to a desire on the part of
the Brahmins to attract public attention and respect by
an ostentatious display of moderation. Be that as it may,
gluttony may certainly be included among the numerous
vices of the Brahmins. There is no limit to their appetite
when they get the opportunity of indulging it, and such
opportunities frequently occur, seeing that their number-
less ceremonies always end with a feast ; and on these
occasions they make a point of gorging themselves to the
utmost extent. There is no doubt that, in spite of their
They considered it a healthy and cleanly habit. They anointed the
hair and beard (Psalm cxxxiii. 2). At festivals or on days of public
rejoicing they anointed either their whole bodies or else only the head
or feet with unguents (St. Matthew vi. 17 ; St. Luke vii. 38 ; St. John
xii. 3). They also anointed the dead (St. Mark xiv. 8, xvi. 1 ; St. Luke
xxiii. 56). Their kings and high priests were anointed at their con-
secration. The vessels of the Tabernacle were also consecrated with
holy oil (Exodus xxx. 26-28).— Dubois.
These semi-divine personages are called Chiranjivis in Sanskrit,
literally ' the long-lived.' — Ed.
1 The tree which produces this is the tijaca-marum of Malabar. It is
the largest fruit known, and is extremely indigestible. — Dubois.
BRAHMIN GLUTTONY 273
being accustomed to it, this habit of eating to excess would
in the end be productive of disastrous consequences in
a climate where moderation in all things must be the rule
of life, if fasts enforced by custom did not give their stomachs
a little rest from time to time.
If Brahmins can with a certain amount of justice reproach
Europeans for intemperance in drinking, with no less justice
can Europeans retort that Brahmins show great want of
moderation in eating. Besides, drunkenness is not an
habitual vice among respectable Europeans, and those who
frequently give way to it are looked upon with contempt
by their own countrymen ; whereas Brahmins, who are
the cream of Hindu society, and ' the gods of the earth.'
are perfect slaves to their stomachs. Indeed the most
revolting gluttony does not horrify them, and they even
justify it under the cloak of religion. It is by no means
uncommon for them to gorge themselves to such repletion
that they are unable to rise from the place where they
have been eating.
Far from being ashamed of this, they pretend that it is
infinitely pleasing to the god Jivattma, that is to say, to
the "principle of life, which they have deified. The more
liquefied butter and other food they can cram into their
stomachs, the better the god Jivattma will be pleased.
When they sit down to a feast it is curious to watch the
preparations that are made so that nothing may hinder
the full play of the appetite, and Jivattma be thoroughly
satisfied. To prevent themselves from being inconvenienced
in any way during this important operation of eating, they
begin by taking off their turbans and clothes, sitting down
to the feast almost naked. While eating they occasionally
stroke their heads, their throats, their chests, and their
stomachs, and rub these portions of their bodies in order-
as it were, to help the food to descend more quickly into
the abdominal regions. They never get up from a meal
until it is absolutely impossible to swallow another morsel ;
and then, to alleviate the enormous amount of work their
stomachs are put to, they swallow a piece of asafoetida,
the aperient and sudorific qualities of which no doubt pre-
vent the ill effects which would otherwise infallibly result
from such excesses.
274 STOPPAGE OF WORK ON FAST-DAYS
To /ill one's .stomach well is a very favourite expression
amongst Hindus, and one you very often hear. Whenever
they feast in another's house the host never fails to ask
his guests if their stomachs are well filled. The first
question that a Brahmin's wife and children ask on his
return from a feast is, ' Have you filled your stomach
well ? ' and it affords him the greatest pleasure to be able
to answer, while he gently rubs that part of his person,
' My stomach is well filled.'
Hindus belonging to other castes which have the right
to wear the triple cord also keep most of the Brahminical
fasts, and so do even some Sudras who have not that
privilege, but who wish to gain the respect and considera-
tion of the public. When these days of mortification
come round all manual labour is stopped, all outdoor
work is suspended, the shops are closed, and workmen,
artisans, and labourers give themselves and their cattle
a rest. Fasts which recur so often naturally cause a con-
siderable waste of time, but in a country where industry
meets with so little encouragement this drawback is not
much felt ; and the indolent Hindu has generally more
time on his hands than he requires to look after his busi-
ness, which is never of a very pressing nature. It is
indeed quite probable that their natural indolence and
dislike for work of all kinds partly contributed to the in-
stitution of so many days of rest !
All these practices which the Hindu thinks himself called
upon to observe are so overladen with fanciful and even
ridiculous details that it is difficult to understand how any
civilized people could have preserved them intact up to
the present day. The Hindus, however, are so obstinately
devoted to custom and precedent that no sensible person
amongst them would think for a moment of trying to
bring about a change. It is true that several of their
modern philosophers, such as Vemana, Tiruvalluvar,
Pattanattu-pillai, Agastya and others, have ridiculed such
customs ; yet they nevertheless recommend people to
follow them, and themselves conform minutely to every
observance \
1 Amongst the few Hindu works which are written in a free philo-
sophical vein, and in which the Hindu religion and its customs are openly
HINDUS AND EUROPEAN USAGES 275
Our Western religion, education, and manners are bo
diametrically opposed at all points to the religious and
civil usages of the Hindus that they are naturally looked
upon with a most unfavourable eye by the latter. In
their opinion Europeans may almost be placed below the
level of beasts, and even the more sensible among them
cannot understand how people, possessed in other ways of
so many superior qualities, can conform in their everyday
life to manners and customs which differ so radically from
their own, and which, as a natural consequence, they con-
sider most coarse and degraded.
The Brahmin rule of life is in appearance intolerably
severe, but it has become for them a mere matter of habit
encouraged by vanity and self-interest. Their punctilious-
ness in the fulfilment of their religious duties day by day,
their self-denials and their fasts, form part of the business of
their lives and are looked upon in the light of pastimes.
They know, too, full well, that the eyes of the multitude
are always on them, and the smallest relaxation of their
discipline or the least negligence in any particular would
put an end to the almost boundless veneration and respect
criticized, not one that I know of has been written by a Brahmin. All
the works of this kind that I have seen have emanated from authors
who were not of this caste. Tiruvalluvar was a Pariah, Pattanattu-
pillai and Agastya were both of the Vellala caste, and their poems are
written in Tamil ; Sarovignaimurti was a Lingayat, and his works are
in Canarese. One of the most famous is Vemana, whose poems, origin-
ally written in Telugu, have since been translated into several other
languages. We are told that this philosopher, who was of the Reddy
caste, and was born in the district of Cuddapah, died towards the end
of the seventeenth century. His writings, from which I have seen
several extracts, appear to me to be most interesting, and are distinguished
by much discernment and independence. It is to be noticed that the
authors of all these satirical and revolutionary works belong to recent
times. If in earlier days any enlightened writers published similar
works, the Brahmins have taken care that not a trace of them shall
remain. Nowadays they rage against the authors we have mentioned,
and speak of their works with contempt. They cannot, of course,
succeed in destroying them, but they do everything in their power to
prevent the reading of them. — Dubois.
The last sentences of the Abbe's note are misleading, for these authors
are held in great respect, and are much read by educated Brahmins.
These latter must be distinguished from the purely priestly class of
Brahmins, whose interest it may be to dissuade people from studying
these works. — Ed.
276 BREAKING ESTABLISHED CUSTOMS
with which the common people regard them. I have
however met with Brahmins who were sufficiently reason-
able to admit that many of their customs were opposed to
all common sense, and that they only practised them out
of consideration for their co-religionists. I know also that
most of them evade the rules and absolve themselves
without hesitation from the performance of very many
of their trifling ceremonies when they are quite certain
that these lapses will remain a profound secret. Thus, for
example, there are very few who perform their ablutions
more than once a day, or who strictly observe the pre-
scribed fasts. To keep up appearances, to dazzle the eyes
of the public, to avoid scandal, such are the limits of their
pious zeal. Although in public they affect the utmost
strictness, they are very much less particular in private
life ; and a well-known saying confirms this assertion : ' A
real Brahmin in the agrahara ., half a Brahmin when seen
afar off, and a Sudra when entirely out of sight V
It must be acknowledged, however, that they are very
tenacious of these long-established customs. Any one who
is believed to openly neglect them incurs severe censure
and contempt, and also lays himself open to serious insults
and annoyances. The gurus of the Brahmins keep a very
watchful eye over the others. Those found guilty of a
breach of discipline are not always let off with severe
reprimands publicly delivered. The saintly gurus rarely
omit the imposition of a heavy fine, the amount of which
is fixed by themselves.
The purohitas also are obliged, for the sake of example
and to keep up appearances, to follow the Brahminical
usages with the utmost strictness, even to the minutest
details ; but it is greatly to their interest to keep up all
these practices, seeing that they form a never-failing source
of profit.
The scrupulous exactitude of the Brahmins is particularly
noticeable at the samaradhanas, or public feasts, to which
they are often invited by persons of high degree, such as
1 The name of villages entirely peopled by Brahmins.
2 This is even more true nowadays than it was in the time of the
Abbe, at any rate among the Brahmins educated on Western lines.
— Ed
BRAHMIN FEASTS 277
Rajahs, governors of provinces, and other high officials, or
wealthy individuals who pride themselves on the enormous
expense which their prodigality entails on these occasions.
The dedication of a new temple, the inauguration of an
idol, the celebration of a feast-day or of a marriage, the
birth of an heir, &c, expiatory ceremonies for the sins of
the departed to procure their admittance into the abode
of bliss, votive ceremonies to ensure victory in time of
war, to avert the evil effects of an unlucky constellation,
or to obtain rain in time of drought, &c, &c. ; one and all
of these are opportunities for samaradhanas K It is need-
less to add that the Brahmins who make their living out
of these and similar practices insist very warmly on their
being kept up, and place them in the foremost rank of
meritorious actions. When a samaradhana is announced
as about to take place, all, men and women, from seven or
eight miles round, flock to it, sometimes to the number
of over two thousand 2 . Each and all bring with them
an appetite well calculated to do full justice to the hospi-
tality of their entertainer. These gatherings are composed
entirely of Brahmins, and as every one keeps his eye on
his neighbour there is much rivalry as to who will show
the greatest familiarity with the customs of their caste
and the greatest zeal in carrying them out. An ancient
Roman philosopher once said that he could not imagine
how two augurs could meet without laughing in each other's
faces. What would he have thought of the grave and
serious mien which Hindu soothsayers and impostors pre-
serve under similar circumstances ?
Seated on the ground in long rows, the women entirely
separated from the men, they sing in turn while waiting
for their food, either Sanskrit hymns in honour of their
deities or love -songs. All those who are listening cry out
as a mark of approval, l Hara ! Hara ! Govinda ' / ' though
the greater number have probably understood nothing of
what has been sung.
1 The Jews had also their solemn feasts. Frequent mention is made
of them in the Bible. — Dubois.
- There is a sarcastic Tamil proverb to the effect that ' a Brahmin
will walk even a hundred miles for rice and dholl." — Ed.
s A style of acclamation. They arc the names of Siva and Vishnu. —
Dubois.
278 SUDKA FEASTS
The giver of the entertainment is not permitted to eat
with his guests unless he is himself a Brahmin. If lie is
of another caste he appears after the feast is finished, and
prostrates himself humbly before these gods of the earth
who have done him the honour to devour the food he has
provided, and who in return give him their asirvada or
blessing. If their host crowns the feast by a distribution
of presents of cloth or money, their fulsome compliments
will know no bounds, and they will exalt him even above
their own deities. At this the host feels excessively
flattered, thoroughly convinced that such an honour
cannot be too dearly bought. I have already remarked
that all Hindus are particularly susceptible to flattery.
There is an entire caste called Battus, who are in a way
flatterers by profession. Their only occupation in life is
to grovel before people of position or importance, and to
recite or sing before them verses composed in their honour,
which are full to overflowing of the most extravagant
eulogies. The most astonishing thing is that, instead of
wounding the modesty and susceptibilities of those to whom
they are addressed, these songs are received with compla-
cency and looked upon as sincere tributes to undoubted
merit, the author being handsomely rewarded for them.
Those who belong to the sects of Siva and Vishnu also
have their samaradhanas, or public feasts, which are given
by the wealthy among them ] . As all the guests who
crowd to these entertainments are Sudras, and for the
most part low, uneducated people, the festivities are
generally very noisy and disorderly, and frequently end
in a quarrel. The various classes of common Sudras also
get up feasts amongst themselves, but these have no re-
semblance to the samaradhanas of the Brahmins, the only
motive of the feasters being to enjoy a festivity which
usually ends in a debauch. At a Brahmin feast the greatest
order and propriety prevail, but Sudra feasts differ in no
wise from the orgies which take place in Europe in the
low pot-houses frequented by the scum of the population.
The Sudras generally postpone the discussion of their many
and frequent differences until some occasion of this sort
1 This is untrue of Vishnavitc Brahmins, for no two Vishnavite Brah-
mins will cat together unless they be very closely related. — Ed.
PRELIMINARY QUARRELS 279
conies round. Every one, indeed, arrives with a firm
determination to have a good fight and to make plenty of
noise over it. The moment when the meal is ready and
the giver of the feast has invited his guests to come in
and partake of it, is generally the time that they consider
most suitable for the discussion of their pretended griev-
ances. They stop the whole assemblage by uttering the
customary oath in the name of the prince or governor of
the province, and declare that no one shall begin to eat
until their grievances have been listened to, their wrongs
redressed, and the culprits punished. And then the dispute
begins. Some take one side and some another, but all par-
ticipate in it, and the quarrel becomes general. They all
scream at the top of their voices, without listening to a
word any one else is saying ; they hurl the most disgusting
accusations at one another, mixed with horrible impreca-
tions and insults, without pausing to give either party
a chance of replying. Then their blood rises, and the
quarrel waxes warmer and warmer. They proceed to
threatening gestures and rush towards each other, their
faces contorted with rage and fury. Any one who did not
know the Hindu character would swear they were all going
to fly at each other's throats. Their host, however, who
generally maintains a strict neutrality on these occasions,
continues to superintend his domestic arrangements with
the utmost composure, or else retires to some peaceful
corner and quietly smokes his pipe, a tranquil spectator
of the scene around him, knowing full well that the belli-
gerents must ultimately tire themselves out by the vehem-
ence of their cries and gesticulations, and that they will
calm down from sheer exhaustion. He then selects three
or four to act as arbitrators, and, placing himself with
them between the two parties, succeeds, after no little
difficulty, in restoring peace. They then investigate the
cause of the quarrel, and try to arrange the affair so as to
satisfy both sides. If this is impossible, the final decision
is put off till some future time, when the whole scene is
re-enacted from the beginning. Promptly forgetting the
epithets which they have been mutually heaping on each
other, the guests at length seat themselves and begin tli^
feast, which has had plenty of time to get cold. As a rule
280 PARIAH FEASTS
it would be waste of labour to try to arrange a difference
of opinion between Sudras without first allowing them to
quarrel and abuse each other, and even come to blows '.
After these preliminaries, which they generally repeat
several times, you may attempt the task of reconciliation
with some hope of success.
The Pariahs also sometimes have feasts amongst them-
selves, but these are invariably disgusting orgies. Follow-
ing the customs of their caste, they make a point of in-
toxicating themselves with the juice of the palm-tree, of
which there is always a vast quantity drunk. The guests,
who know that these orgies always end in a free fight, go
ready armed with stout sticks, and the feast rarely concludes
without bloodshed. Similar quarrels almost always form
part of the wedding ceremonies of a Sudra. During the
time that I lived in India, I celebrated over 2,000 marriages
amongst Christian Sudras of all castes ; and I only remember
one such occasion on which there was not a violent alterca-
tion, which ended more often than not in a furious, if not
sanguinary, battle. The principal cause of dissension is
the marriage settlement. It is seldom that the bride's
parents do not try to cheat those of the bridegroom over
the quantity or value of the jewels, or over the colour and
price of the wedding garments. At other times, perhaps, it
is the friends and relations who feel themselves aggrieved.
They complain bitterly that the respect and consideration
which were their due have not been shown them, either
in not consulting them before the marriage was arranged,
or by a lack of due form and ceremony in their invitation.
There are many small details which must be attended to
when a feast is given amongst the various Sudra classes.
The quality of the food, the method of preparing and serving
it, and a thousand other minutiae, are all points which
have long since been settled by immemorial custom, the
non-observance of which would entail very serious con-
1 The truth is, a marriage or funeral ceremony is the only occasion
when all the members of one family or members of one caste meet, and
it therefore offers the best, if not the only, opportunity for an aggrieved
member to lay his complaint before his castc-beadmen. It is too much
to say that they come ' determined to have a good light," with or without
reason. — En.
FAULT-FINDING BY GUESTS 28]
sequences. Even involuntary mistakes of the most trivial
kind are not overlooked or forgiven. The following story
is an instance. I was once in a village where a man of
the Oopara or gardener caste was giving a feast to his
friends and to the headman of his caste. All the guests
had seated themselves and begun their meal, when one of
them, whilst eating, found a small stone in his rice, which
hurt his teeth. He promptly spat out everything he had
in his mouth on to his plate, found the tin} 7 stone, and
placing it in the hollow of his hand rose from his place,
and thus addressed all the other guests. ' Sirs ! ' he said,
pointing to the giver of the feast, ' here is a man who
invites us to his house, and then gives us stones instead of
rice ! ' And he then showed this little pebble to every
person present. ' Shame ! shame ! ' cried all the guests ;
' our host must be punished.' Thereupon they all got up,
leaving their meal unfinished, to deliberate as to the punish-
ment that should be inflicted for so grave an offence. The
poor fellow was mulcted in a heavy fine, and was also con-
demned to provide another feast on twice as sumptuous
a scale for the heads of the caste.
It is considered good style amongst the Sudras never to
ajjpear pleased or satisfied with any entertainment that
may be offered them. The host may spend large sums
for the gratification of his guests, and may take every
possible care that the food is nicely prepared and well
served ; but the greatest compliment that he can expect
or hope for is that his feast is just fit for dogs. Hence the
common saying, that if a Sudra invited to a feast can find
fault with nothing else, he will be sure to complain that
there was not enough salt.
The master of the house must not be annoyed at these
incivilities ; he must listen to the fault-finding patiently,
and make what excuses he can for the inferiority of his
repast. His only consolation is the thought of the revenge
he will take when he, in his turn, is invited to a feast by
his fastidious and too candid friends.
Intoxicating drinks are forbidden at these feasts, and it
would be considered an insult of the deepest dye to even
suggest them. When the meal is over, betel is handed
round, and the guests retire at once.
282
CHAPTER IX
The Kinds of Food expressly forbidden to Brahmins. — Occult Rites. —
The Disgusting Rite called Sakti.
There are as regards food three things which a Brahmin
must avoid with the most scrupulous care : he must not
eat anything that has had life or has even contained the
principle of life ; he must not drink intoxicating liquors ;
he must not touch food that has been prepared by persons
of another caste. It is no greater privation to a Brahmin
to abstain from eating meat, accustomed as he is from his
earliest youth to go without it, and even to look upon it
as abominable food, than it is for us to refrain from eating
the flesh of certain domestic animals, for which, either
from natural prejudice or from its unpleasant taste, we
feel a strong repugnance. Thus, when a Hindu abstains
from all animal food, he is only conforming to a feeling of
unconquerable repulsion, the result partly of imagination
and partly of long-established custom. I once met a
Brahmin who, on seeing some eggs being broken and beaten
up for an omelette, immediately complained of feeling un-
well, and in the course of a few moments was violently
sick.
The aversion which Brahmins feel for sura-pana, or the
use of intoxicating beverages — an aversion to which I have
several times had occasion to call attention — springs at any
rate from most commendable principles. In places where
Brahmins congregate in great numbers infractions of this
rule of abstinence are extremely rare, and such a thing as
a drunken Brahmin is unknown. They are not, however,
quite so strict on this point when they live in some isolated
spot, away from the watchful eyes of their gurus. A
Brahmin's house, situated at some distance from a village
in Tanjore, once caught fire, and the inhabitants of the
village hastened to the spot to try and snatch what they
could from the flames. Amongst the things saved were
a large earthen vessel of salt pork and another containing
arrack, or native rum. The proprietor felt the loss of his
house much less than he did this overwhelming disclosure.
COVERT VIOLATION OF CASTE 283
He became the laughing-stock of the neighbourhood, and
felt the jeers and mockery of which he was the object so
keenly that he was obliged to leave the country and hide
his shame elsewhere. One may well conjecture, without
doing them any injustice, that there are many other
Brahmins whose delinquencies have not been brought to
light by accidents of this kind. These lapses from strict
adherence to the law are especially frequent in towns,
where illicit pleasures are easily obtainable. More than
once it has come to my knowledge that certain Brahmins
were in the habit of meeting in small numbers in the houses
of Sudras in whom they thought they could place con-
fidence, there to partake in the strictest privacy of feasts
from which neither intoxicating liquors nor meat were
excluded. Furthermore, the Brahmins became so demora-
lized by these debauches that they allowed their hosts to
eat with them, thus shamelessly committing a threefold
breach of those laws of their caste which they are most
especially enjoined to keep.
These little orgies sometimes entail very unpleasant con-
sequences. The Sudras' wives are, of course, obliged to
be in the secret, and as La Fontaine says : —
Rien ne pese tant qu'un secret ;
Le porter loin est difficile aux dames.
Hindu women are by no means exceptions to this rule.
A Brahmin woman whom I knew, allowed herself to be
persuaded by a Sudra woman, a friend of hers, to eat
part of a stew which the latter had cooked, and she even
went so far as to say she thought it excellent. A short
time afterwards the two friends quarrelled, and at the end
of a violent altercation the Sudra woman, to punish her
adversary and silence her at the same time, publicly pro-
claimed the sin which the other in a moment of greediness
had committed. Covered with shame and confusion at
this unexpected revelation, which she found it impossible
to refute, the poor Brahmin woman fled from the place in
despair, vowing, too late, that she would never allow herself
to be caught again.
The use of intoxicating liquors is more common than
the eating of forbidden food, as it is so much less liable
284 PUNISHING OFFENDERS AGAINST CASTE
to detection. At the same time, it must be admitted, it
is an unheard-of thing to see an intoxicated Brahmin in
the public streets. The reproach of intemperance can only
be levelled at a very small number of men of low reputa-
tion, who have lost all sense of shame. One could not,
with any degree of justice, say that the reproach was
generally applicable to Brahmins, who are in this matter
beyond even the shafts of slander itself ] .
The duty of punishing offences of this kind devolves
upon the gurus. When in the course of their peregrina-
tions they hear that any one has misconducted himself in
such a manner, they order the culprit to appear before
them ; and if after due investigation his delinquency is
proved, he has to listen to a severe reprimand and occasion-
ally undergo corporal punishment. Frequently also he
has to pay a heavy fine ; and if the offence is a very grave
one, he is put out of caste. Nevertheless, for fear lest too
many persons might be inculpated, or on account of the
high position of a particular delinquent, or to avoid creat-
ing a scandal, or for other similar reasons, the gurus find
it advisable to shut their eyes to many peccadilloes. The
gurus, too, are not always impeccable in the matter of
bribes, and will often find reasons for allowing a culprit
to escape who has managed to ingratiate himself with
them.
I was once at Dharmapuri, a small town in the Carnatic,
just at the time when a Brahmin guru was visiting that
district. A person of the Brahmin caste was accused
before him of breaking the rules with regard to food, and
even of publicly deriding them. The accusation was a
very serious one, and well substantiated ; so the culprit
was cited to appear, and the evidence against him was
heard. The guru, convinced of the guilt of the accused,
had made up his mind to break his triple cord and turn
him out of caste ; but the accused, on hearing of this
terrible determination, showed not the smallest emotion.
Without displaying the least discomfiture he advanced
boldly into the midst of the assembly, and prostrating
1 This applies equally well in the present day. Yet nobody can
doubt that the number of Brahmins who infringe caste-customs in
food and drink is increasing year by year. — Ed.
A CASTE STORY 285
himself before the guru, made the following speech : —
1 So you have decided, you and your assessors, to break
my cord ! Well, that will not be a heavy loss, as for two
farthings I can get another. But what is your motive for
treating me with so much severity, and for dishonouring
me thus publicly I Is it because I have eaten animal
food ? But then a guru's justice should be meted out
impartially, and punishments should be awarded without
respect of persons. Why am I the only one to be accused,
the only one to be punished, when there are so many others
who are quite as much to blame as myself, or even more
so ? If I turn my eyes on one side, I see two or three
among my accusers who not long since partook with me
of an excellent leg of mutton. If I look on the other side,
I see several who have not disdained to accept the invita-
tion of a common Sudra friend, who treated us to an
admirable chicken stew ; while there are others not less
to blame on this score who have not dared to put in an
appearance in this assembly. Have I your permission to
mention their names ? I am quite ready to produce wit-
nesses, and to substantiate my accusation.'
Struck dumb by this speech, which was delivered with
the utmost confidence and imperturbable assurance, the
guru began to consider what the consequences of this affair
would be, and how it would end if he persisted in carrying
it to its proper termination ; so he put a stop to all future
complications by crying out, with great presence of mind :
' Who has brought this babbler here ? Do you not see
that he is mad ? Turn him out of the assembly at once,
and let me hear no more of him.'
If these slight and rare infractions of the law, which are,
after all, only weaknesses inseparable from human nature,
were the only sins, they would be undeniably small indeed ;
but occasionally one may also come across vice and wicked-
ness in their most hideous forms. It once came to my
knowledge that men calling themselves conjurers or magi-
cians used to attend nocturnal gatherings, which were
held in a deserted spot that I knew of, there to give them-
selves up to indescribable orgies of debauch and intemper-
ance.
The leader of these orgies was a Vishnavite Brahmin,
286 DISGUSTING RELIGIOUS ORGIES
and several Sudras were initiated into the mysterious
iniquities which were carried on there. They drank and
ate to excess everything that is forbidden to a Hindu, not
excepting even the flesh of the cow, and the abominations
practised on these occasions are too disgusting to be
described. They always finished up with sacrifices and
displays of magic, the supposed effects of which spread
fear and consternation amongst the peaceable inhabitants
of the whole neighbourhood, for the superstitious terrors
of the Hindu are easily awakened. People were on the
point of appealing to the magistrates for protection against
these diabolical assemblies, when the debauchees who com-
posed them, seeing they were about to be discovered, left
the province and never dared to appear there again.
Amongst the abominable rites practised in India is one
which is only too well known ; it is called sakti-puja ;
sakti meaning strength or power l . Sometimes it is the
wife of Siva to whom this sacrifice is offered ; sometimes
they pretend that it is in honour of some invisible power.
The ceremony takes place at night with more or less secrecy.
The least disgusting of these orgies are those where they
confine themselves to eating and drinking everything that
the custom of the country forbids, and where men and
women, huddled together in indiscriminate confusion,
openly and shamelessly violate the commonest laws of
decency and modesty.
The Namadharis, or followers of Vishnu, are the most
frequent perpetrators of these disgusting sacrifices. People
of all castes, from the Brahmin to the Pariah, are invited
to attend. When the company are assembled, all kinds of
meat, including beef, are placed before the idol of Vishnu.
Ample provision is also made of arrack, toddy and opium,
and any other intoxicating drug they can lay their hands
on. The whole is then offered to Vishnu. Afterwards the
pujari, or sacrificer, who is generally a Brahmin, first of
all tastes the various kinds of meats and liquors himself,
1 It is more correctly described as ' the power or energy of the god as
represented in some of the many female forms.' It has been estimated
that of the Hindus in Bengal, about three-fourths are devoted to the
worship of sakti, though the forms of worship vary greatly. In Bengal
the Vnmacharis observe the most disgusting rites of all. — Ed.
INTOXICATION AND INDECENCY 287
then gives the others permission to devour the rest. Men
and women thereupon begin to eat greedily, the same
piece of meat passing from mouth to mouth, each person
taking a bite, until it is finished. Then they start afresh
on another joint, which they gnaw in the same manner,
tearing the meat out of each other's mouths. When all
the meat has been consumed, intoxicating liquors are
passed round, every one drinking without repugnance out
of the same cup. Opium and other drugs disappear in
a similar fashion. They persuade themselves that under
these circumstances they do not contract impurity by
eating and drinking in so revolting a manner. When
they are all completely intoxicated, men and women no
longer keep apart, but pass the rest of the night together,
giving themselves up without restraint to the grossest
immorality without any risk of disagreeable consequences.
A husband who sees his wife in another man's arms cannot
recall her, nor has he the right to complain ; for at those
times every woman becomes common property. Perfect
equality exists among all castes, and the Brahmin is not
of higher caste than the Pariah. The celebration of these
mysterious rites may differ sometimes in outward forms,
but in spirit they are always equally abominable. Under
certain circumstances the principal objects which form the
sacrifice to sakti are a large vessel full of native rum and
a full-grown girl. The latter, stark naked, remains stand-
ing in a most indecent attitude. The goddess Sakti is
evoked, and is supposed to respond to the invitation to
come and take up her abode in the vessel full of rum, and
also in the girl's body.
A sacrifice of flowers, incense, sandalwood, coloured rice,
and a lighted lamp is then offered to these two objects ;
and for neiveddya a portion of all the viands that have been
prepared. This done. Brahmins, Sudras, Pariahs, both men
and women, intoxicate themselves with the rum which was
offered to sakti, all drinking from the same cup in turn \
To exchange pieces of the food that they are in the act of
eating, and to put into one's own mouth what has just
been taken from another's, are under these conditions
1 I have mentioned before that to a Hindu who has been decently
brought up this mode of drinking is absolutely abhorrent. — Dubois.
288 RELIGIOUS ORGIES AMONGST THE ANCIENTS
regarded as acts of virtue by the fanatics. As usual, the
meeting winds up with the most revolting orgy.
Without the salutary restraint of a healthy tone of
morality, how can these people be expected to fight success-
fully against the vehemence of their passions % And then,
when they give way to unbridled licence, they think to
stifle remorse by investing these horrible practices with a
religious element, as if sacrilege could disguise their moral
turpitude. Strange to say, it is the Brahmins, and very
often the women of this caste, who are frequently the most
ardent promoters of these Bacchanalian orgies. However,
debauches of this kind entail such heavy expenses as
fortunately to prevent their frequent recurrence.
Of course it is well known that most ancient nations
had their own peculiar mysterious rites, and that very few
among them failed to worship profligacy in some shape or
other. Greece might well feel ashamed of the depravity
which pervaded the cultus of a large number of her deities.
Many remains still exist, proving irrefutably that the grossest
excesses defiled the temples of Venus, Ceres, Bacchus, &c,
while the Persian Mitra and the Egyptian Osiris were the
objects of equally impure worship.
Holy Scripture tells us something of the abominations
practised by the Canaanites in honour of Baal, Baal-peor,
and Moloch, which brought down upon them such terrible
punishments. Thus we see that, all the world over, idolatry
assumed much the same forms, for ignorance and fanaticism
can have but one termination.
At the same time, the Hindus, accustomed as they are
to carry everything to extremes, appear to have surpassed
all the other nations of the world, both ancient and modern,
in the unconscionable depravity with which so many of
their religious rites are impregnated.
CHAPTER X
The Various Occupations of Brahmins.
If Brahmins kept strictly to the letter of the rules of
their caste, they would live in isolated places, far from the
haunts of men, where their whole lives would be spent in
BRAHMINS AS COURTIERS 289
religious exercises. They would perform their ablutions
regularly three times a day ; they would offer the sacrifice
called sraddha to their ancestors, a ceremony which they
alone have the right to perform ; they would look after
their households, paying particular attention to the educa-
tion of their children ; and they would devote all their
leisure moments to reading the Vedas and other sacred
writings, to acquiring knowledge, and to meditation. But
the poverty of many of their number, and the avarice and
ambition which are the ruling passions of each and all,
preclude the possibility of such a philosophical mode of
existence.
Naturally cunning, wily, double-tongued, and servile,
they turn these most undesirable qualities to account by
insinuating themselves everywhere ; their main object,
upon which they expend the greatest ingenuity, being to
gain access to the courts of princes or other people of high
rank. This end achieved, they quickly gain, by their
hypocritical conduct, the affection and confidence of those
who have received them ; and very soon the best and
most lucrative posts are the reward of their pressing atten-
tions. Thus it happens that the prime ministers of Asiatic
princes are almost always Brahmins. Shut up in their
palaces, and plunged in voluptuous idleness, the nominal
rulers rarely give a thought to anything beyond the means
of increasing their enjoyments, creating fresh amusements,
and giving new zest to their passions by ever-varying
means. The welfare of their people and the government
of their country are very secondary considerations, if not
matters of indifference. Women, baths, perfumes, obscene
•dances, filthy songs, each in turn excite their senses. Only
flatterers of the lowest type and despicable procurers are
allowed to come near them, and these are always ready to
applaud the dissolute vagaries of their master.
That the Brahmins, thus raised to positions of importance
at the courts of these slothful and useless princes, do not
forget their relatives and friends, can well be imagined.
Indeed they usually divide the most lucrative of the sub-
ordinate posts among them. Thus surrounded by creatures
upon whom they can rely and who can also rely upon them,
a tacit collusion is established, by means of which each one
290 MENTAL SUPERIORITY OF BRAHMINS
can in his own department, enrich himself with remarkable
rapidity, by carrying on unchecked a system of injustice
fraud, dishonesty, and oppression-qualities m which most
individuals of this caste have been thoroughly well trained.
Better educated, more cunning, more keen-witted with
greater talents for intrigue than other Hindus, Brahmins
become necessary even to the Mussulman princes them-
selves, who cannot govern without their assistance. ±ne
Mahomedan rulers generally make a Brahmin their secretary
of state, through whose hands all the state correspondence
must pass. Brahmins also frequently fill the positions of
secretaries and writers to the governors of provinces ; and
districts. Generally speaking, the Mahomedans of India
are so ignorant of the first principles of public administra-
tion and so utterly unacquainted with the simplest rules
of arithmetic, that they are obliged to have recourse to
the Brahmins for everything that requires enlightenment
and knowledge. In return, the latter know how to copy
only too faithfully the harsh and tyrannical methods ot
the" Mahomedans. When it is a question of plundering the
people or extorting money from them, they employ a thou-
sand vexatious means, sometimes even going so far as to
resort to torture. But they rarely obtain the same hold
over the Mahomedan princes that they do over those ot
their own religion. With the former they remain at then-
posts until by endless peculation and extortion, either
authorized or tacitly allowed, they contrive to amass large
fortunes. But the moment their wealth becomes a no-
torious fact, that moment their disgrace is certain. Ihey
in their turn are imprisoned, tortured, and forced to dis-
gorge the riches that they have so unjustly acquired.
However, some of them, foreseeing the fate that must befall
the servants of such masters, keep a sharp look-out and
place the fruit of their plunder in security, either by keep-
ing a part of it in some secret hiding-place or by sending
it away to some country beyond the tyrant s reach.
The" Brahmins have also been clever enough to work
their way into favour with the great European Power
that now governs India. They occupy the highest and
most lucrative posts in the different administrative boards
and Government offices, as well as in the judicial courts ot
BRAHMINS IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 291
the various districts. In fact there is no branch of public
administration in which they have not made themselves
indispensable. Thus it is nearly always Brahmins who
hold the posts of sub-collectors of revenue, writers, copyists,
translators, treasurers, book-keepers, &c. It is especially
difficult to do without their assistance in all matters con-
nected with accounts, as they have a remarkable talent for
arithmetic. I have seen some men in the course of a few
minutes work out, to the last fraction, long and com-
plicated calculations, which would have taken the best
accountants in Europe hours to get through l .
Furthermore, their perfect knowledge of native opinion
and of the ways in which it may be guided, to say nothing
of the influence which they exercise over public feeling by
the prerogatives of their birth, are quite sufficient reasons
to account for the readiness with which their services are
accepted. In fact, the veneration and respect with which
their fellow-countrymen regard them shed, in the opinion
of the vulgar, a kind of reflected glory and dignity on the
different Government offices in which they occupy sub-
ordinate positions. But woe to the European head of the
office, who does not keep the strictest watch over the
conduct of these said subordinates, or places implicit con-
fidence in them ! He will soon find himself the victim of
his own negligence, with his position seriously compromised.
I have known many Europeans holding most distinguished
and lucrative appointments end by losing their reputation,
their honour, their position, and their fortune, all because
they left too much in the hands of the Brahmins under
them, for whose misdeeds the Government held them
responsible. In vain did these high officials exhaust all
their resources against the authors of their ruin ; imprison-
ment and punishment were equally ineffectual. Most of
these peccant subordinates would rather die in irons than
restore one farthing of their ill-gotten gains.
One can well imagine that when Brahmins are launched
in the turmoil of public affairs they soon, lose sight of the
religious observances of their caste. Occupied with the
1 The proportion of Brahmins in Government employ is still large ;
for it is the Brahmins who, more than any others, have availed them-
selves of the benefits of English education. — Ed.
•292 SOLDIERS AND TRADERS
government of a kingdom or a province, they have neither
the time nor even the wish to give themselves up to the
exercise of their interminable religious rites. As, however,
they are in positions of authority and can dispense or with-
hold favours at their pleasure, no one dares to call attention
to their negligence. It is sufficient if they conform in the
more important matters. Their dignity releases them,
without entailing disagreeable consequences, from the
necessity of attending to minor details. Firmly convinced
as they are of the truth of their favourite dictum that to
fill one's belly one must play many parts, Brahmins are
clever at turning their hands to many ways of earning
a livelihood. Some take up medicine, and it is said with
considerable success. Others become soldiers. In the
Mahratta armies there are many Brahmins ; but I cannot
believe that a military force composed of men of this caste
could ever be very formidable. Bravery and courage are
foreign to their nature, and their education would not
tend to foster these soldier-like qualities. Nevertheless,
there have been several Brahmin generals whose military
careers have not been without glory. Many Brahmins
who are in trade, especially in the province of Gujerat, are
considered excellent men of business. Those, however,
who choose this walk in life are rather looked down upon
by the rest of their caste, not so much on account of their
profession as merchants or shopkeepers, but because of
the very small amount of attention which they pay to their
caste customs and observances. Trade in itself is not con-
sidered at all degrading to a Brahmin, and men of this
caste who are engaged in it are to be met with everywhere ;
only there are many things which Brahmins are not allowed
to sell, and which consequently they cannot include in their
operations, such, for instance, as red cloths, the seeds and oil
of sesamum, husked rice, liquids of every kind, salt, perfumes,
fruits, vegetables, poisons, honey, butter, milk, sugar, &c.
One almost invariably finds that subordinate collectors
of revenue, custom-house officers, writers, book-keepers,
village schoolmasters, and astronomers are Brahmins.
They are very useful as messengers, because they are never
detained anywhere ; and it is for this reason that many
of the large merchants, living in provinces governed by
FILLING MENIAL OFFICES 293
native princes, employ them as coolies or porters, and pay
them very highly, because custom-house officers have orders
to let everything that they carry pass through free. This
calling, though arduous, is by no means the least lucrative.
Those who follow it travel almost free of expense, for along
every main road there are numerous hostelries called
chuttrams, where Brahmins alone have the right to lodge,
and where they are fed gratuitously. The revenues which
these establishments derive from their landed property,
and the abundant alms which they receive, amply com-
pensate the persons who manage them, and who are Brah-
mins also, for the expenses entailed by the hospitality
which they extend to their brethren.
The great facility with which they can everywhere intro-
duce themselves under all sorts of disguises, without exciting
the smallest suspicion, and the adroitness with which they
can play all sorts of parts and extricate themselves from
the most difficult positions, render them peculiarly well
fitted to act as spies in time of war, always supposing that
you can be sure that they are not serving both parties,
a circumstance which often happens without any one being
the wiser. Poverty or self-interest sometimes reduces them
to occupy positions which are very derogatory to their
illustrious birth. Thus sometimes they are seen acting as
dancing-masters to courtesans attached to the service of
the temples. Others become cooks ; but when they are
reduced to this latter calling, and serve masters of inferior
caste, these latter undertake never to touch the vessels
which their cook uses in preparing the food. The cook
will serve the food when it is ready, but will not remove
what is left after the meal is over. What the Brahmin
cook prepares and touches is pure for his master, but
what the master touches is impure and would defile the
cook. Some even demean themselves so far as to be
washermen and water-carriers for persons of their own
caste, and even undertake to perform the very meanest
requirements of domestic service.
Superstition, which exercises such an important influence
throughout the whole of India, also affords great resources
to those in search of a means of livelihood. An illness,
a fall, a law-suit, a fresh undertaking, a newly built house.
294 LIVING ON NATIVE CREDULITY
a bad omen, an unpleasant dream, and a thousand other
similar things, are all occasions on which their credulous
neighbours come running to them for advice, and for which
they make them pay as dearly as possible. The Hindu
Almanac, about the composition of which I have already
spoken, has always an answer or a remedy for everything.
Brahmins are never at a loss for an answer, no matter
on what point they may be consulted. Clever char-
latans that they are, they make their various calculations
with the utmost gravity ; and to give greater weight to
their words they bewilder their clients with stories invented
on the spur of the moment, which they tell with portentous
emphasis. For, I repeat again, as arch-impostors they are
absolutely unrivalled. Every Hindu is an adept at dis-
guising the truth ; but on this point the Brahmin far
excels every other caste. Indeed, this vice has become so
deeply engrained, that, far from being ashamed of it, they
regard it on the contrary as a subject for exultation and
vanity. I once had a long conversation with two of those
Brahmins who gain their living at the expense of the
credulous public, and they ended by agreeing with me
as to the superiority of the Christian religion over the
absurdities of their own theogony. ' All that you say is
reasonable and true,' they repeated several times. ' But
then,' I replied, ' if all that I say is reasonable and true,
it follows that all that you say to the people must be false
and ridiculous.' ' That also is true,' they admitted ; ' but
these lies comprise our livelihood. If we were to expound
to the people only such truths as you have just been telling
us, how should we obtain the wherewithal to fill our stomachs?''
Then again, flattery, in the art of which Brahmins are
also past-masters, is also a great source of profit to them.
However proud and haughty they may be, they never find
any difficulty in grovelling, in the most humiliating manner,
at the feet of any one from whom they think they can
gain some advantage. They attach themselves like leeches
to the great merchants or other rich individuals, and are
never tired of playing the role of admirers and flatterers.
They know full well that to appeal to a native's vanity is
to attack him at his weakest point ; and naturally they
turn this knowledge to the best possible account. The
TEMPLE REVENUES 295
grossest flattery, verging on the absurd, is what is most
pleasing to the ears of their modest patrons, and is the
surest way of loosening the latter's purse-strings. But the
most inexhaustible mine of wealth to Brahmins is their
religion. As chief priests they exercise the highest func-
tions, and consequently derive almost all the profit. In
certain famous temples, such as Tirupati, Rameswaram,
Jaganath (Puri) and others, thousands of Brahmins live
on the revenues with which these temples are endowed.
Those who cannot find means of existence in their native
country go and seek their fortunes elsewhere, often journey-
ing as much as two hundred miles from their families.
Expatriation is a very small matter to them, and they
never hesitate to accept it if there is anything to be gained
by it.
CHAPTER XI
Religious Tolerance amongst the Brahmins. — Their Indifference with
regard to their own Religion. — Their Sublime Ideas of the Deity. —
A Comparison between them and the Greek Philosophers.— The
State of Christianity. — The Political Intolerance and Ignorant
Presumption of Brahmins.
I have already said that the general feeling amongst
Brahmins is that all the Hindu deities ought to receive an
equal share of attention and worship, since they are not
really antagonistic one to another. The quarrels and wars
which erstwhile took place between these deities were
never of long duration, and have in no wise prevented
their living since then in perfect amity together. I have
also remarked that in consequence of this the greater
number of the Brahmins strongly disapprove of the numerous
sectaries who devote themselves to the worship of one par-
ticular deity and pay little or no attention to the others,
on the ground that they are inferior and subordinate to
the special deity which they prefer. But are these self-
same Brahmins really so devoted to the religion of their
country and to the worship of these deities ? Well, though
this assertion may appear paradoxical, I should say that,
of all Hindus, they care the least and have the smallest
amount of faith in them. It is by no means uncommon
296 IRREVERENCE FOR THE GODS
to hear them speaking of their gods in terms of the most
utter contempt. When they are displeased with their idols
they do not scruple to upbraid them fiercely to their faces,
at the same time heaping the grossest insults upon them,
with every outward gesture and sign of anger and resent-
ment. In fact, there is absolutely no limit to the blas-
phemies, curses, and abuse which they hurl at them under
these circumstances \
There is a well-known Hindu proverb which says, ' A
temple mouse fears not the gods.' This exactly applies to
the Brahmins, who enter their temples without showing the
slightest sign of serious thought or respect for the divinities
who are enshrined in them. Indeed, they often seem to
choose these particular places to quarrel and to fight in.
Even while performing their numerous religious fooleries,
their behaviour shows no indication of fervour or real
devotion. As a matter of fact, their religious devotion
increases or diminishes in proportion to the amount of
profit they expect to make out of it, and it also depends
on the amount of publicity surrounding them. Those
deities who do not contribute towards the welfare of their
votaries here below only receive very careless and per-
functory worship.
The histories of their gods are so ridiculous and so ex-
1 Any one who is familiar with the vernaculars of India knows that
they contain an immense number of terms of abuse, which are so ex-
traordinary, and so abominably obscene, that it would be impossible
to find their counterpart in any Billingsgate of Europe. However,
disgusting expressions are so greatly to the taste of the Hindus, that,
not content with their own well-endowed vocabulary, they carefully
learn and appropriate all the bad language that they hear in their
quarrels with the foreigners who live amongst them. When Hindus
are angry with their gods, which is usually the case when they do not
receive a favourable answer to their prayers, one may see them entering
the temples with many outward expressions of rage and mortification,
and exhausting their vocabulary in curses and reproaches hurled against
their unhappy gods, whom they openly accuse of impotence and fraud.
In their ordinary conversation they often use most irreverent expres-
sions regarding their gods, one of the least obnoxious being, ' If I do not
keep my word may the same punishment fall upon me as I should
deserve if I had seduced the wife of my god.' If a person of high position
has a grievance against the gods, he sometimes revenges himself by
having the doors of their temples stopped up with thorns and brambles,
so that no one can enter to worship or to offer sacrifices. — Dubois.
COGNIZANT OF THE SUPREME BEING 207
travagant that it is not surprising that the Brahmins are
at heart conscious of the absurdity of worshipping such
beings. There is, therefore, very little danger incurred in
ridiculing the gods in the presence of Brahmins. Very
often they agree with the scoffer, and even enlarge upon
what he has said. Many Brahmins can repeat by heart
songs and verses that treat with very scanty respect the
divinities which they worship so ostentatiously in public,
while their audience listen without any sign of disapproval.
Brahmins have no fear of such conduct calling forth either
reproof or punishment. The Sudras, who are more simple
and credulous than the Brahmins, would not be so indulgent
under similar circumstances, and it would be particularly
imprudent to ridicule any particular god of theirs in the
presence of those who are specially devoted to him.
There is another factor which must be taken into account
in estimating the scanty veneration which they pay their
gods, to whom nevertheless self-interest, education, custom,
and respect for public opinion oblige them to display out-
ward respect ; and that is the clear and precise knowledge
which most of them must have gleaned from their books
of a ' God who is the Author and Creator of all things ;
eternal, immaterial, omnipresent, independent, in all things
blessed, exempt from pain and care ; the spirit of truth,
the source of all justice ; governor, dispensator, and regu-
lator of all things ; perfect in wisdom and knowledge ;
without shape or countenance, without limit, without
nature, without name, without caste, without parentage ;
of an absolute purity which excludes all passion, all bias,
all compromise.'
All these qualifications and many others which are not
less characteristic are translated literally from their books,
and are used by Brahmins to explain the Supreme Being,
to whom they sometimes give the name of Parabrahma,
Paramatma, &c. Is it credible that, knowing this, they
can seriously bestow the title of gods on the almost count-
less number of animate and inanimate things which form
the chief objects of the vulgar cult I It follows, therefore,
that they ought to confine their worship to this supreme
and unique Being, of whom they still retain such a sublime
perception. There appears to be no doubt whatever thai
l 3
298 PERVERSE SUPERSTITION
their Brahmin ancestors worshipped only this one Supreme
Being ; but with the lapse of time they fell victims to
idolatry and superstition, and, shutting their eyes to the
light that they possessed, stifled the voice of conscience.
Was it not for the same reason that God pronounced that
condemnation of which the Apostle St. Paul speaks in the
Epistle to the Romans against certain philosophers of his
time, who knowingly rejected the truth l Is not this the
reason why the Brahmins of to-day are given over, like
those philosophers of old, to all the sins of a perverse will
and to the many kinds of vice and corruption with which
they are imbued, and from which other castes are more or
less exempt, seeing that they possess stronger faith ?
It is true that Brahmins are not the only philosophers
who have been induced by purely worldly considerations
to hide the greatest and most important of truths from
their fellow- men. They are only following in the steps
of the philosophers of ancient Greece. Even Socrates, the
greatest of them all, whose ideas on the subject of the Deity
were almost as perfect as those which have been given us
by revelation, never dared to avow them openly : and,
although he thoroughly recognized all the absurdities of
paganism, he maintained the principle that every one should
follow the religion of his country.
Plato, his disciple, who was so distressed that Greece
and all the other countries of the world should be given
over to a false and dissolute religion, and who also, like
Socrates, believed in the true God, said that these were
truths which should not be disclosed to the common
people.
The whole world, as Bossuet says, was plunged at that
time in the same error ; and truth, though known to a few,
remained captive and dared not appear in the light of day.
Those who knew and believed in the true God thought it
sufficient to worship Him in secret, and held that there
was no harm in paying outward respect to idols with the
rest of the world. Revelation had not yet purified their
ideas on this subject. The truth was known only in one
very small corner of the world. The worshippers of the
true God were only to be seen in small numbers in the
temple of Jerusalem.
TOLERANCE FOR OTHER RELIGIONS 299
But there is one essential difference between these ancient
philosophers and the modern Hindus : the former were few
in number, and lacked the necessary means and influence
which would have enabled them to make an impression on
the multitude and successfully combat the errors into
which it had fallen ; whereas the Brahmins, owing to their
numbers and to the high estimation in which they are held
by the public, could easily, if they wished, and if their
interests and their vices were not opposed thereto, over-
throw the entire edifice of idolatry throughout the whole
of India, and substitute the knowledge and worship of
the true God, of whom they already possess so perfect
an idea.
Brahmins do not confine themselves to professing devotion
to all the Hindu deities. Though the rules of their caste
forbid their indulging in any outward signs of worship to
the gods of other nations, one of the principles taught in
their books and recognized by them is that, among the
many different religions to be found throughout the world,
and which they call Anantaveda, there is not one that should
be despised and condemned. They might even entertain
some feeling of respect for Mahomedanism, encumbered
though it is with so much outward form and ceremony,
and with the many superstitions with which the Indian
Mahomedans have invested it, had not the harsh and
oppressive rule of the latter, as well as their open con-
tempt for the civil and religious institutions of the rest of
the inhabitants, made their persons and their religion equally
odious to the Hindus.
The Christian religion commands the approbation of
Brahmins in several respects. They admire its pure and
holy morality ; but, at the same time, they hold that
some of its precepts are beyond man's power of fulfilment,
and that its sublimely high standard of morality is only
suitable for persons leading a contemplative life, who have
retired from the world and are consequently sheltered from
its temptations. On the other hand, as Christianity con-
demns most of their customs and superstitions, it has on
that account become most hateful to them. The Hindu
who embraces it is not considered to belong to the same
nation as themselves, because his new religion forces him
300 FORMER ASCENDENCY OF CHRISTIANITY
Id reject those customs and practices which they regard as
the link binding them all indissolubly together.
However, it must be confessed that if, in these latter
days, idolatrous Hindus have shown a greater aversion to
the Christian religion as they became better acquainted
with Europeans, the result must be attributed solely to
the bad conduct of the latter. How could the Hindus
think well of this holy religion, when they see those who
have been brought up in it, and who come from a country
where it is the only one that is publicly professed, openly
violating its precepts and often making its doctrines the
subject of sarcasm and silly jests I It is curious to note
that the Brahmin does not believe in his religion, and yet
he outwardly observes it ; while the Christian believes in
his, and yet lie does not outwardly observe it. What a sad
and shameful contrast !
Before the character and behaviour of Europeans became
well known to these people, it seemed possible that Chris-
tianity might take root amongst them. Little by little it
was overcoming the numberless obstacles which the pre-
judices of the country continually placed in its way. Several
missionaries, animated by a truly apostolic zeal, had pene-
trated into the interior of the country, and there, by con-
forming scrupulously to all the usages and customs of the
Brahmins — in their clothing, food, conversation, and general
conduct in life — had managed to win the attention of the
people, and by dint of perseverance had succeeded in
gaining a hearing. Their high character, talents, and
virtues, and above all their perfect disinterestedness,
obtained for them the countenance and support of even
the native princes, who, agreeably surprised at the novelty
of their teaching, took these extraordinary men under
their protection, and gave them liberty to preach their
religion and make what proselytes they could.
It is a well-known fact that Robert a Nobilibus, a nephew
of the famous Cardinal Bellarmin, and founder of the
Mission at Madura, where he died at the beginning of the
last century, converted nearly 100,000 idolaters in that
very kingdom. His contemporary, the Jesuit Brito, bap-
tized 30,000 heathens in the country of the Maravas,
where lie finally gained the crown of martyrdom. The
ITS RETARDED PROGRESS 301
missionaries scattered about the other provinces of the
Peninsula also laboured hard, and with the greatest success,
to extend Christianity amongst the Hindus. The French
Mission at Pondicherry numbered 60,000 native Christians
in the province of Arcot, and was daily making further
progress when the conquest of the country by Europeans
took place — a disastrous event as far as the advance of
Christianity was concerned. Having witnessed the immoral
and disorderly conduct of the Europeans who then overran
the whole country, the Hindus would hear no more of
a religion which appeared to have so little influence over the
behaviour of those professing it, and who had been brought
up in its tenets ; and their prejudice against Christianity
has gone on increasing steadily day by day, as the people
became more familiar with Europeans, until it finally
received its death-blow. For it is certainly a fact that
for the last sixty years very few converts have been made
in India. Those still remaining (and their number is daily
diminished by apostasy) are mostly the descendants of
the original converts made by the Jesuit missionaries.
About eighty years ago there must have been at least
1,200,000 native Christians in the Peninsula, while now, at
the very utmost, they amount to but one-half of that number.
This holy religion, which, when it was first introduced
into India about 300 years ago, had only such obstacles
as indifference or deep-rooted superstition to contend with,
is now looked upon with unconquerable aversion. A re-
spectable Hindu who was asked to embrace the Christian
religion, would look upon the suggestion either as a joke,
or else as an insult of the deepest dye. To such an extreme
is this hatred now carried in some parts, that were a Hindu
of good repute to be on intimate terms with Christians, he
would not dare own it in public.
A Hindu who embraces Christianity nowadays must
make up his mind to lose everything that makes life
pleasant. He is henceforth an outcast from society. He
must renounce his patrimony, his right to inherit, his
father, mother, wife, children, and friends l . He is aban-
doned and shunned by every one.
1 The law now recognizes a convert's right to his share of the family
property. — Ei>.
302 EXCLUDING STRANGERS FROM TEMPLES
Europeans should indeed blush and take shame to them-
selves when they see to what depths of degradation and
abasement the religion of their fathers has sunk in this
country through the misconduct and bad example of their
fellows K
But to return to the matter in hand : many people
have attributed to narrowmindedness and intolerance the
excessive care which Brahmins take to exclude strangers
from their temples and religious ceremonies. For my part,
I think that their only motive is to secure themselves from
the approach of men who, from the way in which they live,
and from the clothes which they wear, are in their eyes in
a perpetual state of defilement. In the course of my travels,
chance has sometimes brought me to the door, or into the
enclosure, of one of their large temples, just when a crowd
had assembled to witness some solemn ceremony or pro-
cession, and giving way to curiosity, I have stopped to look
on at my leisure. On such occasions the Brahmins them-
selves have sometimes invited me to enter their temple,
being satisfied as to my manner of living and conduct ; an
honour which, out of respect to my calling, I always felt
bound to decline.
When I had to build or restore a church, it was very
often from Brahmins that I obtained the site and the
necessary materials ; and when I did occasionally meet
with opposition in the public discharge of my religious
duties, it was never due to Brahmins, but to fanatical
sectaries, to religious mendicants, and to other vagabonds
who are always wandering about the country.
But if Brahmins cannot with any justice be accused of
intolerance in the matter of religion, the same can certainly
not be said in regard to their civil usages and customs.
On these points they are utterly unreasonable. We have
already seen many proofs of this in the preceding chapters,
and what I am now about to add will form a fitting sequel.
It is part of their principles to avoid and despise strangers.
1 In his Letters on the State of Christianity in India the Abbe goes
into the whole of this question at great length ; but he ascribes to Brah-
minical influence, rather than to Anglo-Indian immorality, the chief
cause of ' the impossibility of making real converts to Christianity
among the natives of India.' — En.
UNCHANGEABLE CUSTOMS 30.3
The signs of affection, friendship, and even respect which
they sometimes show them are only hypocritical, their
motive being entirely that of self-interest. If a European
were to come and tell me that he had found amongst the
Hindus a really disinterested friend, I should without
hesitation predict, while pitying his simplicity and excess
of confidence, that sooner or later his pretended friend
would deceive and betray him.
Being fully persuaded of the superlative merits of their
own manners and customs, the Hindus think those of other
people barbarous and detestable, and quite incompatible
with real civilization. This ridiculous pride and these
absurd prejudices have always been so deeply ingrained
in them, that not one of the great dynastic changes that
have taken place in India in modern times has been able
to effect the smallest change in their mode of thinking
and acting. Though they have had to submit to various
conquerors who have proved themselves to be their superiors
in courage and bravery, yet, in spite of this, they have
always considered themselves infinitely their superiors in
the matter of civilization.
The Mahomedans, who can tolerate no laws, no customs,
and no religion but their own, used every advantage which
conquest gave them in a vain attempt to force their religion
on the people who had succumbed to them almost without
resistance. But these same Hindus, who did not dare to
complain when they saw their wives, their children, and
everything they held most dear carried off by these fierce
conquerors, their country devastated by fire and sword,
their temples destroyed, their idols demolished ; these same
Hindus, I say, only displayed some sparks of energy when
it became a question of changing their customs for those
of their oppressors. Ten centuries of Mahomedan rule,
during which time the conquerors have tried alternately
cajolery and violence in order to establish their own faith
and their own customs amongst the conquered, have not
sufficed to shake the steadfast constancy of the native
inhabitants. Bribes of dignities and honours, and the fear
of annoyance and loss of position, have had but a slight
effect on them, and that confined to a few Brahmins.
Indeed, the dominant race has had to yield, and has even
304 BRAHMIN EGOTISM
been forced to adopt some of the religious and civil practices
of the conquered people.
It is true that the tyrannical way in which the Maho-
medans have always governed this mild and gentle people
was not calculated to conciliate them ; but perhaps the
time is not far distant when the Hindus may see themselves
delivered from the iron yoke which has weighed so long
upon them. As a rule they care little for the troubles
and ills of this life, but it would be difficult for them to
forget all the miseries that their inhuman masters have
heaped upon them.
The Brahmins in particular cherish an undying hatred
against the Mahometans. The reason of this is that the
latter think so lightly of the pretensions of these so-called
gods of the earth ; and, above all, the Mahomedans do not
scruple to display hearty contempt for their ceremonies
and customs generally. Besides, the haughty Mussulmans
can vie with them in pride and insolence. Yet there is
this difference : the arrogance of a Mussulman is based
only on the political authority with which he is invested,
or on the eminence of the rank that he occupies ; whereas
the Brahmin's superiority is inherent in himself, and it
remains intact, no matter what his condition in life may
be. Rich or poor, unfortunate or prosperous, he always
goes on the principle engrained in him that he is the most
noble, the most excellent, and the most perfect of all created
beings, that all the rest of mankind are infinitely beneath
him, and that there is nothing in the world so sublime or
so admirable as his customs and practices.
With regard to any special exhibitions of wisdom, par-
ticularly in the province of learning, it would be impossible
to persuade Brahmins that there are men outside their
caste who are capable of disputing the first place with
them. As for the industrial or aesthetic arts, they look
upon them as beneath their attention. Probably the gross
ignorance of the greater number of the Mahomedan natives
of India, who are not even capable of drawing up their
own almanac, may have helped to contribute to the good
opinion that Brahmins have of themselves ; but, on the
other hand, if the Mahomedans had any honesty of feeling
at all, would they not drop some of this 'ridiculous boasting,
PREJUDICE AGAINST EUROPEANS 305
considering the immense and incontestable superiority that
the many Europeans who live in this country have over
them ? The Brahmins, on the other hand, far from accept-
ing this superiority, scornfully repudiate anything that they
hear in regard to the ingenious contrivances and useful
discoveries which have made such giant strides in Europe
of late years. Nothing that has not been discovered by
Brahmins, and nothing that is not to be found in their
books, would be considered worthy of one moment's atten-
tion on their part. You may often meet with men of the
Brahmin caste who, from some interested motive or other,
have learnt European languages and understand them
thoroughly, but you never find in their hands a book
written in one of these languages, and no one could ever
persuade them that such a book contained anything useful
which they did not already know, or which was not to be
found in one of their books. No doubt frank and friendly
relations between them and educated Europeans may in
time overcome this absurd and inexplicable perverseness ;
but nothing leads one to hope that they will ever seek to
establish such relations \
How, indeed, could a Brahmin or any other Hindu have
any real feelings of friendship or esteem for Europeans so
long as the latter continue to eat the flesh of the sacred
cow, which a Hindu considers a much more heinous offence
than eating human flesh, so long as he sees them with
Pariahs as domestic servants, and so long as he knows that
they have immoral relations with women of that despised
caste I He, it must be remembered, considers himself
defiled and obliged to purify himself by bathing if so much
as the shadow of one of these Pariahs is thrown across
him. How, indeed, could he feel well disposed towards
Europeans when he sees them give way without shame or
remorse to drunkenness, which to him is the most dis-
gusting of vices, and which, were he to be but once publicly
convicted of it, would bring upon him the most serious
consequences ? How can he respect Europeans when he
sees their wives on terms of the most intimate familiarity
with their husbands, being equally intemperate, and eating,
1 The spread of English education during the last sixty years has
certainly brought about an improvement in this direction. — Ed.
306 EUROPEAN CLOTHING
drinking, laughing, and joking with other men, and, above
all, dancing with them : he, in whose presence a wife dare
not even sit, and to whom it is inconceivable that any
woman, unless she be a concubine or a prostitute, could
even think of indulging in such pastimes ? How, again,
could he mix with Europeans when he sees their clothing,
which in shape alone seems to him to savour of indecency
by showing too much of the human form, and of which so
many articles, such as shoes, boots, gloves, are made from
the skins of animals ; he, who cannot understand how
any decent man could handle, wear, or even touch these
remains of dead animals without shuddering with dis-
gust ?
CHAPTER XII
The Morality of Brahmins. — Their Deceit and Dissimulation. — Their
Want of Filial Devotion. — Their Incontinence. — Causes of their
Depravity. — Unnatural Offences. — Outward Decency. — The Chastity
of their Women. — Brahmin Methods of Revenge. — Brahmin Selfish-
But are the Brahmins, who are so easily shocked at the
sins and vices of others — are they themselves exempt from
all human weaknesses ? Are their morals irreproachable ?
Oh, far from it ! My pen would refuse to describe all their
wrong-doings ; but, so far as is possible, I will try to give
a clear and impartial sketch of them.
I think that we may take as their greatest vices the
untrustworthiness, deceit, and double-dealing which I have
so often had occasion to mention, and which are common
to all Hindus. It is quite impossible to fathom their
minds and discover what they really mean ; more impos-
sible, indeed, than with any other race. He would indeed
be a fool who relied on their promises, protestations, or
oaths, if it were to their interest to break them. All the
same, I do not think that these vices are innate in them.
It must be remembered that they have always been until
quite recently under the yoke of masters who had recourse
to all sorts of artifices to oppress and despoil them. The
timid Hindu could think of no better expedient with which
to defend himself than to meet ruse with ruse, dissimulation
TXFILIAL BEHAVIOUR 307
with dissimulation, and fraud witli fraud. The prolonged
use of weapons for which excuse may be found in their
natural desire to resist the oppression of their rulers, ended
by becoming a habit which it is now impossible for them
to get rid of. An almost unconquerable propensity to
theft is also to be noticed amongst the Hindus. They
never let slip an opportunity of stealing, unless they think
they are likely to be found out. With them honesty is
always secondary to their own personal interest. The
natural sentiments of filial respect and devotion, the
foundation of all other virtues and the first link in the
social chain, exercise very little influence over a Brahmin's
children. The outward show of love and respect that they
occasionally make is purely formal, and means nothing.
Young children will obey their father, because they fear
punishment if they do not ; but they will overwhelm their
mother with abuse, and will insult her grossly, even going
so far at times as to strike her. When they grow older
they fail to respect even their father, and it often happens
that he is obliged to give way to his sons, who have made
themselves masters of the house. Strange to say, nowhere
are parents fonder of their children than they are in India ;
but this fondness usually degenerates into weakness. If
the children are good, they are extravagantly praised ; if
they are naughty, their parents show the utmost ingenuity
in rinding excuses for them. The mild punishments that
their naughtiness or disobedience brings down upon them
invariably err on the side of leniency. The parents do not
dare to whip them or scold them sharply, or even inflict
any punishment that they would be likely to feel. The
father and mother content themselves with making feeble
remonstrances about their bad behaviour, and if these
produce no effect, they leave them to grow up in their
evil ways. The few sensible parents who show more firm-
ness and severity with their children are met with a show
of temper. Sons do not hesitate to resist the parental
authority, and threaten to escape it by running away and
living elsewhere. This threat rarely fails to produce the
desired effect ; the parents' severity melts away and they
become passive witnesses of the disorderly conduct of
their sons, who, encouraged by this first victory, end by
308 PASSIONS PREMATURELY AROUSED
becoming absolute masters of the house. One must, however,
do them the justice to say that, after having thus gained
the mastery over their parents, they take great care of
them, as a general rule, and see that they want for nothing
in their old age. But I fancy that in acting thus they are
moved less by filial affection than by considerations of
what the world will say. In the case of such spoilt children,
subjected as they are from their earliest youth to influences
which prematurely develop the latent germs of passion
and vice, the knowledge of evil always comes before the
first dawnings of reason. At the time of their lives when,
according to the laws of nature, the passions should remain
unawakened, it is not at all unusual to find children of
both sexes familiar with words and actions which are
revolting to modesty. The instincts which are excited at
an early age by the nudity in which they remain till they
are seven or eight years old, the licentious conversation
that they are always hearing around them, the lewd songs
and obscene verses that their parents delight in teaching
them as soon as they begin to talk, the disgusting expres-
sions which they learn and use to the delight of those who
hear them, and who applaud such expressions as witti-
cisms ; these are the foundations on which the young
children's education is laid, and such are the earliest impres-
sions which they receive.
Of course it is unnecessary to say that, as they get older,
incontinence and all its attendant vices increase at the
same time. It really seems as if most of the religious
and civil institutions of India were only invented for the
purpose of awakening and exciting passions towards which
they have already such a strong natural tendency. The
shameless stories about their deities, the frequent recur-
rence of special feast-days which are celebrated everywhere,
the allegorical meaning of so many of their everyday
customs and usages, the public and private buildings
which are to be met with everywhere bearing on their
walls some disgusting obscenity, the many religious services
in which the principal part is played by prostitutes, who
often make even the temples themselves the scenes of their
abominable debauchery ; all these things seem to be calcu-
lated to excite the lewd imagination of the inhabitants of
KEEPING SEPARATE ESTABLISHMENTS 309
this tropical country and give them a strong impetus
towards libertinism.
In order to prevent the consequences of this precocious
sensuality, parents must hasten to marry their children
as early as possible. Yet marriage under these circum-
stances does not always prove a very powerful restraint.
Nothing is more common than for a married man to keep
one or more concubines away from his home, in a separate
establishment, according as his pecuniary circumstances
permit. This state of affairs is particularly common in
large towns, where it is so much easier to keep it a secret
from the legitimate wife, and thus avoid the domestic
quarrels and dissensions which are the natural consequences.
Nevertheless, even in the country, the jealousy of a wife
is rarely a hindrance to a husband's profligacy. She may
try in vain to bring him back by remonstrances and threats ;
in vain she may leave her home and take refuge with her
parents. Her faithless husband recalls her and maybe
swears to behave better in future. But she is soon deceived
again ! She soon finds herself deserted once more ; and
finally she must perforce resign herself to seeing, hearing,
and suffering eveiything without making any further com-
plaint.
And after all, is it surprising that libertinism and all its
consequences prevail in a country where the passions have
so many incentives and such ample opportunities of satis-
faction ! Look at the crowd of widows in the prime of
life who are forbidden to remarry, and who are only too
ready to yield to the temptations by which they are assailed.
Modesty and virtue place no restrictions on them ; their
only fear is that their misconduct may be found out. Con-
sequently, abortion is their invariable resource to prevent
such a contingency, and they practise it without the
slightest scruple or remorse. There is not a woman amongst
them who does not know how to bring it about. This
odious crime, so revolting to all natural feeling, is of no
importance in the eyes of the Hindus. According to their
view, to destroy a being that has never seen the light is
a lesser evil than that a woman should be dishonoured.
The crimes of these unnatural mothers do not always,
however, go unpunished ; many of them fall victims to
310 BOOKS INCULCATING DEBAUCHERY
the violent remedies which they employ to get rid of their
shame. But should these remedies fail in having the
desired effect, and the women be no longer able to conceal
their condition, they give out that they are going to make
a pilgrimage to Benares, which is a very favourite form
of devotion amongst Brahmins of both sexes. Then
having chosen a discreet companion in whom they can
confide, they start on their journey ; but the supposed
pilgrimage comes to an end in a neighbouring village, at
the house of some relative or friend, who helps them to
live in seclusion until such time as the child shall be born.
They then hand over the result of their misconduct to
any one who will take charge of it, and return to the bosom
of their family.
Besides these sources of depravity which are common
to all castes, there are a great many others peculiar to the
Brahmins. Many of them possess abominable books in
which the most filthy and disgusting forms of debauchery
are systematically described and taught. These books
also treat of such matters as the art of giving variety to
sensual pleasures, the decoction of beverages calculated to
excite the passions, or renew them when exhausted. They
also contain recipes for philtres, which are supposed to
have the property of inspiring unholy love. The courte-
sans of the country often have recourse to these potions
in the hope of retaining the affections of those whom they
have enslaved, mixing them secretly in the food of their
victims. I am told that the ingredients of which these
potions are composed would inspire the greatest libertine
with disgust and horror for his mistress if it ever came to
his knowledge.
To have any connexion with a courtesan, or with an
unmarried person, is not considered a form of wickedness
in the eyes of the Brahmins. These men, who look upon
the violation of any trivial custom as a heinous sin, see no
harm in the most outrageous and licentious excesses. It
was principally for their use that the dancers and prosti-
tutes who are attached to the service of the temples were
originally entertained, and they may often be heard to
intone the following scandalous line : —
Vesya darisanam punyam fxxpa nam nam !
ADULTERY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 311
which means, ' To have intercourse with a prostitute is
a virtue which takes away sin V
Adultery on the part of a woman, though it is con-
sidered shameful and is condemned in Brahminical law,
is punished with much less severity in their caste than in
many others. So long as it is kept a secret it is regarded
as a matter of very small importance. It is the publicity
of it which is the sin. If it becomes known the husbands
are the first to contradict any gossip that may be current
in order to avoid any scandal or disagreeable consequences.
However, the shame and dishonour which are the in-
evitable consequences of sins of this nature, and which
are also reflected on the families of the culprits, serve as
a check to a great many and keep them in the path of
virtue. Those who succumb to an irresistible temptation
are generally clever enough to invent expedients to hide
their weakness from spiteful eyes. But woe to those who
have been so imprudent or so careless as to fail to hide
their misdeeds. There is no insult that charitable persons
of their own sex will not heap upon them, and if the least
quarrel arises amongst them this would be the first thing
brought up against them. Their confusion under these
circumstances proves a warning to others to be more
circumspect, or, at any rate, to save appearances at all costs.
But the depravity of the Hindus does not end here.
There are depths of wickedness a thousand times more
horrible to which the greater number of them are not
ashamed to descend.
In Europe, where the Christian religion has inspired
a salutary horror for certain unnatural offences, one would
find it difficult to believe the stories which show to what
lengths these disgusting vices are carried by the greater
number of heathens and Mahomedans, to whom they have
become a sort of second nature. We all know how greatly
the Arabs and their neighbouring tribes are addicted to
them. Kaempfer says that in Japan there are public
establishments for this purpose which are tolerated by
Government; and very much the same thing is done in China.
1 The real translation is, ' Looking upon a prostitute,* &c. This line,
it may be mentioned, is not a quotation from any book of Hindu religion,
but is often quoted falsely as such. — Ed.
312 UNNATURAL VICE
The facility with which the Hindu can gratify his passions
in a natural manner in a country where courtesans abound
renders these disgusting practices less common ; but it by
no means prevents them altogether. In the larger towns
in India there are generally houses to be found given over
to this odious form of vice. One sometimes meets in the
streets the degraded beings who adopt this infamous pro-
fession. They dress like women, let their hair grow in
the same way, pluck out the hair on their faces, and copy
the walk, gestures, manner of speaking, tone of voice,
demeanour, and affectations of prostitutes. Other secret
crimes are also carried on in India, and especially among
the Mahomedans ; but decency will not allow me to speak
of them. They are the same as those which are mentioned
in the Bible (Leviticus xviii and xx), and which brought
down such terrible punishments on the inhabitants of
Canaan who had been guilty of them.
Being hardly able to believe in the possibility of such
abominable wickedness, I asked a Brahmin one day whether
there was any truth in what I had heard. Far from deny-
ing the stories, he smilingly confirmed them ; nor did he
appear to be even shocked at such iniquity. Indeed he
seemed to be quite amused at the confusion and embarrass-
ment that I felt in asking him such questions. At last
I said to him : ' How is it possible for one to believe that
such depraved tastes exist, degrading men as they do to
a far lower level than the beasts of the field, in a country
where the union of the two sexes is so easy ? ' ' On that
point there is no accounting for tastes,' he replied, bursting
out into a laugh. Disgusted with this reply, and filled with
contempt for the man who was not ashamed to speak thus,
I turned on my heel and left him without another word.
From the earliest ages these unnatural offences have
been common in the East amongst heathen nations. In
the laws that God gave the Israelites, He warns them to
be on their guard against these detestable vices, which
were known to be very prevalent amongst the inhabitants
of the countries they were going to take possession of,
and which were one of the chief reasons for their total
extermination.
If the Christian religion had done nothing more than
OUTWARD PROPRIETY 313
render these iniquities revolting and execrable, that alone
would be sufficient to ensure our love and respect for it.
It may seem incredible, after what I have just said,
when I add that there is no country in the world where
greater attention is paid to what may be described as
outward propriety. What we call love-making is utterly
unknown amongst the Hindus. The playful sallies, the
silly jokes, the perpetual compliments, and the eager and
unlimited display of attention in which our youths are so
profuse would be looked upon as insults by any Hindu
lady, even the least chaste, that is, if they were offered
to her in public. Even if a husband indulged in any
familiarities with his own wife it would be considered
ridiculous and in bad taste. To inquire after a man's
wife, too, is an unpardonable breach of good manners ;
and when one is visiting a friend one must be careful
never to speak to the ladies of the house \
Thus it is that here below mankind seems incapable of
preserving the happy medium. For our part we exceed
in one direction by giving way to undue familiarity with
persons of the opposite sex ; while the Hindus for their
part err on the side of reserve. The extreme suscepti-
bility of the latter in this respect is due to the opinion
they hold that no mark of affection between man and
woman can be either innocent or disinterested. If a Euro-
pean lady is seen taking a gentleman's arm, even though
he may profess the profoundest respect for her, nothing
would persuade a Hindu that she was not his mistress.
These strict principles of etiquette are instilled into the
mind of a Hindu woman from her early youth, and, owing
to the severity with which lapses from them are treated
in some castes, indiscretions are far less frequent than one
would imagine to be the case, considering how early the
licentious habits of Hindu men are formed. Whatever may
be said to the contrary, Hindu women are naturally chaste.
To cite a few examples of unseemly conduct, a few lapses
attributable to human frailty, is no proof of their want of
chastity as a body ; just as it is no proof to cite the shame-
less conduct of those poor wretches, prostitutes by birth
1 In the case of relatives and intimate friends no such objection is
taken. — Ed.
314 RESENTMENT AND REVENGE
and profession, who follow the armies and live in con-
cubinage with Europeans. I would even go so far as to
say that Hindu women are more virtuous than the women
of many other more civilized countries. Their tempera-
ment is outwardly calm and equable, and though a pas-
sionate fire may smoulder underneath, without the igniting
spark it will remain quiescent. Is this dormant coldness
of disposition to be attributed to the secluded way in which
they are brought up, or to the reserved demeanour that is
taught them from their infancy, or to the unbridgeable gulf
that is fixed between them and their male relatives, with
whom the least familiarity is not permissible ; or, what is
not very likely, can it be put down to climatic influence ?
I cannot say. But whoever studies their character and
conduct from this particular standpoint as impartially and
disinterestedly as I have done, will, I feel sure, be con-
strained to render the same tribute to their chastity.
Having thus spoken of the special power which sexual
passion exercises in India, a power which unfortunately
is only too strongly felt in other quarters of the globe,
I will now say a few words on two other passions which
are equally violent, and to which the Hindu is particularly
susceptible, namely, the resentment of injury and the
desire for revenge. The Brahmins are particularly ran-
corous. The bitter feeling caused by an injury or affront
never leaves them. Feuds are perpetuated in families and
become hereditary, and a perfect reconciliation is never
effected. Self-interest sometimes brings two enemies
together, but they only dissemble for the time being,
and never conquer their feeling of hatred. It is not un-
usual to see a son or a grandson revenging wrongs done
fifty years before to father or grandfather. Furthermore
such vengeance takes a peculiar form. Duels seem to
them foolish, and they rarely have recourse to assassina-
tion or violence. Timid and weak-minded as they are,
they do not like to commit themselves to bold or mur-
derous devices. Their favourite weapons are spells and
enchantments. They think that by reciting maledictory
mantrams, or calling to their aid the diabolical arts of
some wicked magician, they will surely cause their enemy
to be attacked by some incurable malady. To get up
BRAHMIN SELFISHNESS 315
a quarrel and then overwhelm each other with the grossest
insults is a common mode of revenge, and one in which
Brahmins excel. But their most perfidious weapon, and
one which they are especially clever at using, is slander.
Sooner or later, by crooked ways or underhand intrigues,
they contrive to deal their enemies some fatal blow by this
means.
Murder and suicide occur occasionally amongst the
Hindus, though such crimes are regarded by them with
greater horror than by any other people. Poison is gener-
ally the means employed when a murder is committed.
It is usually women who are guilty of suicide. Driven to
despair by the ill-treatment of a brutal husband, or by the
annoyances of a spiteful mother-in-law, or by any of those
domestic worries which are so common in a Hindu house-
hold, they lay criminal hands on themselves and destroy
the life which has become unbearable.
Intense selfishness is also a common characteristic of
a Brahmin. Brought up in the idea that nothing is too
good for him, and that he owes nothing in return to any
one, he models the whole of his life on this principle. He
would unhesitatingly sacrifice the public good, or his
country itself, if it served his own interests ; and he would
stoop to treason, ingratitude, or any deed, however black,
if it promoted his own welfare. He makes it a point of
duty not only to hold himself aloof from all other human
beings, but also to despise and hate from the bottom of
his heart every one who happens not to be born of the
same caste as himself. And further, he thinks himself
absolved from any feelings of gratitude, pity, or considera-
tion towards them. If he occasionally shows any kindli-
ness, it is only to some one of his own caste. As for the
rest of mankind, he has been taught from his earliest youth
to look upon them all as infinitely beneath him. According
to the principles in which he has been brought up, he ought
even to treat them with contempt, hatred, and harshness,
as beings created solely to serve him and minister to his
wants without there being any necessity for him to make
the smallest return. Such are the Brahmins ' !
J It must be admitted that the Abbe paints the Brahmins in darker
colours than, as a bodv, thev deserve. — En.
316
CHAPTER XIII
The Outward Appearance of Brahmins and other Hindus. — Their
Physical Defects. — Remarks on the Kakrdaks or Albinoes, as
described by Naturalists, who are not allowed Burial after Death.
— Other Hindus to whom the same Honour is denied. — Exhuma-
tion of Corpses. — The Feeble Physique of the Hindus. — The same
Feebleness and Deterioration to be observed throughout the Animal
and Vegetable Kingdoms. — Weakness of the Mental Faculties of
Hindus. — The Language of the Brahmins. — Their Costume. — Their
Houses.
Having given a sketch of the moral character of the
Brahmins, I will now say a few words about their physical
appearance. Many of the characteristics of this kind that
I am to mention do not, however, specially pertain to
them, but are common to Hindus of other castes. Faces
and figures vary, as they do in every other caste ; but
there are certain physical deformities common enough in
Europe which are much more rarely seen in India. Thus,
for instance, one seldom meets persons who are hump-
backed or lame, unless they have become so by accident.
If a child is born with any bodily defect, it is attributed
to the evil influence of two unlucky constellations which
must have been in conjunction at the time of birth, or to
some eclipse of the sun or moon that took place at that
moment. On the other hand, blindness is very common.
No doubt the chief cause of this is to be found in the habit
that poor people have of going about in nature's garb,
with their heads exposed to the burning rays of the sun ;
and it is doubtless in the hope of preventing, as far as
possible, the terrible scourge of ophthalmia that they so
frequently anoint their heads with castor oil or oil of
sesamum.
The Hindus, like every other race, have certain physical
characteristics which are peculiar to themselves. Except
for their colour, however, they seem to me to be more like
Europeans, especially in their physiognomy, than any other
Asiatic race. Generally speaking, they have glossy black hair,
narrow foreheads, and dark, or occasionally grey \ eyes.
1 They do not at all admire the blue eyes of Europeans. They con-
sider them a deformity, and call them ' cats' eyes.' — Dubois.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 317
Their stomachs are flat, and they rarely carry much flesh.
Their legs are usually slightly bowed the wrong way and
a little crooked, the result no doubt of their habit of squat-
ting on the ground with their legs crossed under them like
our tailors. Neither have they any calves, which are con-
sidered anything but a beauty. Men who work in the
fields or who are always exposed to the sun are quite as
black in colour as the inhabitants of Kaffraria or Guinea ;
but the complexion of those who, like the Brahmins, spend
their days under cover, or lead a sedentary life, is many
degrees lighter. A very dark Brahmin and a fair Pariah
are looked upon as monstrosities. Hence no doubt the
proverb ' Beware of a black Brahmin or a fair Pariah ! '
A Brahmin is generally the colour of brass, or perhaps of
weak coffee. This is considered the most correct shade ;
and the women who are the colour of light gingerbread are
most admired. I have seen Brahmins, and particularly
Brahmin women, who were not as dark as the inhabitants
of Southern Europe. Furthermore the palms of the hands
and the soles of the feet of Hindus of both sexes are almost
as white as our own \
On the mountains and in the dense jungles of the Malabar
coast there are some savage tribes who are much lighter
in colour. In Coorg there is a tribe known as the Malai-
Kondiaru who in outward appearance closely resemble
Spaniards and Portuguese. The cause of this phenomenon
is no doubt due partly to the climatic influences of the
country they live in, and partly to their habit of always
living in dense forests where the rays of the sun cannot
penetrate.
You may sometimes meet a few, but very few, indi-
viduals whose skin is even fairer than that of a European,
and with hair of the same colour. Of course this extreme
fairness is unnatural, and makes them very repulsive to
look at. In fact, these unfortunate beings are objects of
horror to every one, and even their parents desert them.
They are looked upon as lepers 2 .
1 They share this characteristic with the Negroes. — Dubois.
- Learned physiologists have thought that these men really are lepers,
and that this whiteness is produced by some malady which dries up the
skin. They also think that black people would be much more suDJect
318 ALBINOES
They are called Kakrelaks ' as a term of reproach. This
peculiarity does not prevent some of them from living to
a great age. They cannot bear the light, neither can they
look fixedly at anything so long as the sun is up. During
the day they close their eyelids, leaving only a slit to look
through ; but as soon as night comes on they open wide
their large pink eyes, and are able to go about quite easily,
seeing as well as other people.
The question has been raised as to whether these degene-
rate individuals can produce children like themselves, and
afflicted with nyctalopia. Such a child has never come
under my observation ; but I once baptized the child of
a female Kakrelak, who owed its birth to a rash European
soldier, though this circumstance does not afford any proof
on the subject 2 .
These unfortunate wretches are denied decent burial
after death, and are cast into ditches. This custom arises
from a native superstition which does not allow any person
who has died while suffering from a cutaneous disease to
be buried. The Hindus believe that were this done a
to this affliction if it were not for their habit of anointing themselves
frequently with oil or some other fatty substance. At the same time
it should be observed that these human anomalies are to be met with
all over the world. Thus you find the Bedas in Ceylon, wild creatures
with white skins and red hair. There are Kakrelaks in all the American
Islands ; then again there are the Dondos or albinoes of Southern Africa
(Aethiopes albieantes). Lastly, these colourless people are particularly
numerous in the Isthmus of Darien. — Dubois.
1 The kakrelaks are horrible insects, disgustingly dirty, which give
forth a loathsome odour. They are of the same species as our bugs,
but much larger. These unpleasant and destructive insects shun the
day and its light. They remain hidden in holes or crannies in walls,
and come out at night to devour all the food they can find and to disturb
sleepers. — Dubois.
3 This fact disposes at any rate of the opinion which some have held
that these people cannot bear children. It remains to be seen whether
there would be any issue, supposing both parents were albinoes. The
white Negroes of Africa are believed never to be able to produce children ;
but the Kakrelaks in Asia are supposed to be prolific, and their progeny
are said to be of the same colour as the rest of the nation. Anyhow, no
one has been able to discover for certain if albinoes have been born
from other than Negroes or dark-coloured parents ; and we may con-
clude that these ill-favoured children are not a special variety of the
human species, any more than are the Cretins in the Canton of Valais. —
Dubois.
WHO ARK LEFT UNBURIED 319
drought or some other public calamity would befall the
whole country.
Burial is also refused, at least in several provinces, to
persons who die of wounds or eruptive diseases, such as
small-pox or measles, &C. 1 Also to those whose bodies
have white marks on them ; to pregnant women who die
before child-birth 2 ; and above all to the many who fall
victims to tigers. The tragic fate of these last is in a manner
consecrated by those heaps of stones which the traveller
sometimes comes across in his journeys, and which, on the
very spot where they died, cover the remains of those who
have perished so deplorably 3 .
In consequence of this absurd superstition, when the
country has been a long time without rain, the inhabitants
think the drought is to be attributed to the fact that some
one must have surreptitiously infringed this unwritten
law. Accordingly the magistrates give immediate orders
that all bodies that have been buried in the course of the
year shall be exhumed, and become food for the birds of
prey. I myself once had great difficulty in preventing
a Christian cemetery being violated and the remains of
the dead disturbed in this manner. Fortunately, at the
critical moment, rain came down in torrents, and so the
profanation of the dead was avoided. Otherwise I should
have been forced to yield to the clamour of a senseless
mob.
But to return to the subject in hand, which has been
rather lost sight of during this long digression.
All Hindus, and particularly Brahmins, have weak con-
stitutions, and in this respect they are greatly inferior to
1 Brahmins who die of small- pox are burnt in the usual way, at any
rate in South India. The Sudras invariably bury such corpses. — Ed.
2 It is usual amongst Brahmins to take the foetus from the body of
a dead pregnant woman, and the latter is burned separately. — Ed.
3 The bodies even of criminals and suicides were not deprived of
burial by the Jews ; yet there are examples in Holy Scripture which
bear some resemblance to this Hindu custom. Thus Achan, after he
had been stoned, was buried under a heap of stones (Joshua vii. 25, 26),
and Absalom's case is mentioned in 2 Samuel xviii. 17. The king of Ai
was treated in the same way (Joshua viii. 29). Finally, Jeremiah pro-
phesies that the wicked Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, should have ' the
burial of an ass ' (Jeremiah xxii. 19). — Dubois.
320 DRAWBACKS IN NATURE
Europeans. They have not the strength, vigour, or activity
of the latter. One European workman would, under any
circumstances, do at least as much as two natives. This
constitutional weakness, which is partly inherent, is greatly
increased by the hardships and privations that they are
condemned to bear all their lives.
The climate, which is the chief cause of the degeneration
of the human race in these countries, exercises a no less
fatal influence in the animal and vegetable kingdoms.
Green stuff, roots, and fruits are for the most part insipid
and tasteless, and do not possess half the nutritive value of
those grown in Europe. A very few may be cited as ex-
ceptions to this rule. The vegetable products of India
included in our list of groceries are pungent enough to
destroy the membrane of one's throat. Again, the in-
digenous flowers, with two or three exceptions, have no
scent. Lastly, the trees and shrubs to be found in the
forests or in uncultivated places are generally covered
with thorns and prickles. The elephant and tiger are
strong and vigorous enough, but all the other animals,
whether wild or domesticated, share in the universal
debilitation. What we call butcher's meat has very little
succulence in it, and there is nothing in the flavour of the
game that would tempt the least fastidious European
palate. Vainly would one search for a good hare or part-
ridge. One is inclined to think that nature here has re-
duced the nutritive value of all animals and vegetables in
proportion to the weakness of the human beings whose food
they are to be.
But as a cruel compensation, nature is prodigal with
creatures that are hurtful, and with many things that are
useless, to man. The forests and jungles are inhabited by
elephants, tigers, and other wild animals which are deadly
foes to man and his flocks and herds. The country is
overrun with snakes and other deadly reptiles, while birds
of prey may be seen everywhere in large numbers. Every
kind of irritating, destructive, and abominable insect
swarms and multiplies in a manner that is equally sur-
prising and annoying. Even poisonous plants are by no
means uncommon, and their hurtful properties show no
signs of deterioration.
ENERVATED TEMPERAMENTS 321
It is true that the four elements seem to conspire together
for the purpose of weakening everything that matures or
vegetates in this portion of the globe. The soil itself is
generally light, sandy, and wanting in substance ; it re-
quires a great deal of skilled labour to make it fertile.
The air is almost everywhere unhealthy, damp, and enervat-
ing ; the water in the wells and tanks is usually brackish
and unpleasant to the taste : indeed, the excessive heat
of the sun dries up everything, animal and vegetable.
The mental faculties of the Hindus appear to be as feeble
as their physique. I should say that no other nation in
the world could boast of as many idiots and imbeciles.
There are, of course, very many sensible, capable persons
amongst the Hindus, who possess marked abilities and
talents, and who by education have developed the gifts
with which nature has endowed them ; but during the
three hundred years or so that Europeans have been
established in the country no Hindu, so far as I know,
has ever been found to possess really transcendent genius.
Their want of courage almost amounts to absolute
cowardice. Neither have they that strength of character
which resists temptation and leaves men unshaken by
threats or seductive promises, content to pursue the course
that reason dictates. Flatter them adroitly and take them
on their weak side, and there is nothing you cannot get out
of them.
The prudent forethought which prompts men to take
heed to their future as well as to their present wants seems
almost an unknown quality among the majority of Hindus.
They take no thought for the morrow, and all they care
about is to gratify their vanity and their extravagant
whims for the moment. They are so taken up with the
pleasures and enjoyments of the present that they never
think of looking beyond to the possible misery and priva-
tions that may await them in the future.
This want of forethought is in a great measure responsible
for those reverses of fortune which so frequently happen to
them, and by which they pass from the greatest wealth
and luxury to the bitterest poverty. It is true they bear
these sudden transitions from comfort to misery with the
most marvellous resignation ; but then this resignation is not
DUBOIS M
322 BRAHMIN CHARACTERISTICS
the outcome of principle or of dignified patience — it is due
rather to their apathetic temperament, which makes them
incapable of feeling any strong emotion. They enjoy their
good fortune mechanically and without thought, and they
take their losses with the same calm imperturbability \
I prefer to think that the ingratitude with which they
are so often and so justly accused may be attributed to
this phlegmatic disposition, and not to wilful wrong-
headedness. Nowhere is a kindness so soon forgotten as
among Hindus. Gratitude — which is a feeling that springs
up spontaneously in all true hearts, which is a duty that
bare justice prescribes, and which is a natural result of
benefactions received — is a virtue to which the Hindu shuts
his heart entirely.
But let us leave this picture, which does not represent
a very pleasing side to their character, and let us return
to the consideration of their physical peculiarities. It is
easy to recognize a Brahmin by a sort of swagger and
freedom in his gait and behaviour. Unconsciously, and
apparently unaffectedly, he shows by his tone and manner
the superiority that his birth, rank, and education have
given him. Brahmins have also a peculiar way of talking
and expressing themselves. They never make use of the
common or vulgar expressions of other castes. Their
language is generally concise, refined, and elegant ; and
they enrich their vocabulary with many Sanskrit words.
They have also peculiar modes of expression which the
Sudras never use ; and their conversation is always inter-
spersed with pedantic proverbs and allegories. Their
idioms are so numerous and varied, that though you may
think you know their language well, it often happens that
you cannot understand them when they are talking fami-
liarly amongst themselves. In speaking and writing they
make use of endless polite and flattering terms, often very
aptly ; but they carry the practice ad nauseam. Their
compliments are always exaggerated and high-flown. They
think nothing of placing those whom they wish to flatter
above the level of their deities ; indeed, that is a very
usual beginning to a congratulatory speech.
1 This imperturbability might more correctly be attributed to the
prevailing belief in the doctrine of fatalism. — Ed.
ARTICLES OF CLOTHING 323
If the language of the Brahmins is rich in gracious and
flattering expressions, it is even more so in terms of abuse
and coarse, indecent invective. Though they pride them-
selves on their courtesy and knowledge of the world, when
they lose their tempers they are no better than our lowest
rag-pickers ; and an incredible quantity of disgusting and
obscene language pours from their mouths on such occa-
sions.
Their clothing is of the most simple description. It is
as nearly as possible just what it was in the earliest ages.
Two pieces of cotton cloth without hem or stitch, one
10 or 12 feet long, the other 14 or 16, and 3 or 4 feet wide,
are their only garments. With the first piece they cover
their shoulders, with the second they gird their loins. Of
the latter, one end is passed between their thighs and is
tucked behind into the portion which goes round their
bodies, while the other end forms a drapery in front, and
hangs with a certain careless grace to their feet. Their
loin-cloths are generally ornamented with a border of silk
of a different colour from the rest of the cloth itself. This
costume is very suitable for persons who, like them, are
most particular about keeping themselves always in a state
of purity and cleanliness, for, as one may imagine, it does
not cost much to wash their cloths often. Many have also
a kind of large sheet, with which they cover themselves
up at night, or when the mornings are cold. Since Euro-
pean piece-goods have been procurable all over the country,
those who have been able to afford them have bought
cloths of brilliant scarlet, which are a source of great pride
and pleasure to them. It appears that formerly the Hindus
went about with bare heads, and their bodies naked to the
waist ; and even at the present day the natives on the
Malabar coast go about in this fashion. So also do a great
many others who live in the dense forests where the same
customs have prevailed from time immemorial, and where
no revolutionary changes have penetrated. Nowadays
most Hindus wear a turban, an article of dress which they
have copied from the Mahomedans. It is made of fine
thin muslin, often as much as 60 or 70 feet long, but at
most only 2 feet in width. They twist it artistically round
their heads, but the manner of arranging it varies in different
324 HINDU HOUSES
provinces and with different castes. Men who are in service
with either Europeans or Mahomedans wear a long coat of
fine muslin or calico, very full in the skirt, and made in
a peculiar way. This also is a foreign fashion recently
copied from the Mahomedans. Brahmins and Mahomedans
may be distinguished from each other by the fact that the
former fasten their coats on the left side, and the latter
on the right. Both generally wear over this garment a
belt, made of some fine material, and wound several times
round the waist.
All Brahmins, rich or poor, dress alike ; but the rich
usually wear finer and more expensive materials.
Most Hindus wear more or less expensive ornaments
either in the middle or the upper part of the ears. These
ornaments vary in size and pattern according to locality
and caste. But I shall have occasion to speak of this
kind of adornment later on.
The simplicity of their houses equals that of their costume.
These are generally thatched with straw and have mud
walls, particularly in the country. The houses in the towns
are better built ; but they are all arranged on the same
plan, and are all equally simple. The interior resembles
a little cloister, with a gallery round it, while in the centre
there is a court of varying size. From this you enter the
tiny, dark, windowless rooms, into which light and air
can only penetrate by means of a door about 4 feet high
by 3 feet wide. These little dens are absolutely uninhabit-
able during the hot weather. The kitchen is always placed
in the furthest and darkest corner of the house, so as to
be entirely beyond the reach of strangers' eyes. I have
already explained the motive of this arrangement. The
hearth is invariably placed on the south-west side, which
they call ' the fire-god's quarter,' because the Hindus
believe that there this deity resides.
As the men are not allowed to pay visits to the women
of the family, who are always occupied with their domestic
affairs and remain shut up in a part of the house to which
outsiders, as a rule, are not admitted, large open seats or
raised platforms are constructed both inside and outside
the principal entrance door, on which the men sit cross-
legged, while they talk about business, discuss religion,
PUBLIC BUILDINGS 325
politics, or science, receive visits, and in fact kill time as
best they can.
Besides the private houses, one or more public buildings
are generally to be found in all villages of any size. These
consist usually of a shed or long room, open down the
whole length of one side. They are what Europeans call
choultries, and they correspond to the caravanserais of
other Eastern nations. These rest-houses, which are usually
large and convenient, not only serve as a shelter for travellers,
but are also used as council chambers, where the headmen
assemble to consider the public affairs of the village, settle
law-suits, put an end to quarrels, and pacify disputants.
They are also used for the celebration of religious rites in
places where there are no temples.
All the villages are built very irregularly, without any
plan or symmetry. The houses are crowded closely to-
gether ; the streets are very narrow, and excessively dirty,
with the exception of the street in the larger villages where
the market is held, which is kept cleaner, and in which
a certain amount of order is maintained. A few steps
from the entrance door of each house is a large ditch into
which all the manure from the stable and the refuse from
the house are thrown. During the rains these sewage pits
become full of water and form cesspools, which give off
the most disgusting effluvia. But this unpleasant arrange-
ment, which is the same in all the villages, does not appear
to affect the inhabitants in any way.
All the houses being covered with thatch and crowded
together, when a fire breaks out — a by no means rare
occurrence — a whole village is often burned down in less
than half an hour.
Though in the larger towns the houses are tiled and
not thatched, there is no more symmetry in their arrange-
ment than in the villages, and the streets are so narrow
that two persons can scarcely walk abreast. In the middle
of each street there usually runs a sewer, which receives
all the rubbish and filth from the houses. This forms
a permanent open drain, and gives off a pestilential smell,
which none but a Hindu could endure for a moment.
326
CHAPTEE XIV
Rules of Etiquette amongst Brahmins and other Hindus. — Modes of
Greeting.
It is unnecessary, and it would be tedious, to give a
detailed list of the numberless rules governing Hindu
etiquette. If I cite a few it will give a general idea of the
rest.
Hindus have several ways of greeting each other. In
some provinces they put the right hand on the heart ; in
others they simply stretch it out to the acquaintance they
are meeting, for they never greet a person whom they do
not know, unless he be of very high rank. When two
Hindu acquaintances meet, they generally say a few
meaningless words to each other, such as, ' You — So-and-
so — you here ? That's all right ! ' ' And I — So-and-so —
here I am.' Then each goes on his way.
They have also borrowed the salaam from the Maho-
medans ; but this they never use except to strangers.
The salaam consists in touching the forehead with the right
hand, and bowing at the same time, with more or less
emphasis, according to the rank of the person they are
greeting. In the case of a person of very high rank they
sometimes touch the ground with both hands and then
raise them to their foreheads, or else they come close to
him and touch his feet three times.
Hindus who do not belong to the Brahmin caste greet
Brahmins by performing namaskara, which consists in
joining both hands, touching the forehead, and then
putting them above the head. This mode of salutation,
which is only offered to a superior, is accompanied by these
two words, ' Saranam, ayya ! ' which means ' Respectful
greeting, my lord ' ; upon which the Brahmin extends his
right hand, partially open, as if he expects to receive
something from the person who is paying him this mark
of respect, and gravely answers with this one word, ' Asir-
vadam ! ' which answers to the Latin ' Bene] axit tibi Deus ! '
or to our ' God bless you ! ' It is a mysterious compound
expression, made up of three words which convey good
GREETING ACQUAINTANCES 327
wishes. Only Brahmins and gurus have the right to give
the asirvadam or to pronounce the sacred word over those
who treat them with respect or give them presents. Some
persons, when saluting a Brahmin, content themselves with
raising their clasped hands as far as their chest.
Another very respectful manner of greeting is to extend
both hands towards the feet of him whom you wish to
honour, or to seize his knees while you throw yourself at
his feet. This is a very common mode of greeting between
a son and a father, or between a younger and an elder
brother, on meeting after a long separation. The same
humble attitude is also adopted when asking for pardon or
for a favour ; and only when the object is attained does
the postulant relax his hold on the feet of the person whom
he is addressing.
But of all the modes of salutation the most solemn and
the most reverential is the sashtanga, or prostration of the
six members, of which mention has already been made
elsewhere l . When a Hindu is about to make a ceremonious
visit to members of his family who live at a distance, he
makes a halt when he gets near the place and sends some
one to warn his relatives that he is coming. The relatives
then start at once to fetch him, and conduct him to their
home, often with much ceremony, and accompanied by
music. It is not customary either to shake hands or to
kiss each other on these occasions. A man who publicly
kisses a woman, even if she be his wife, commits the grossest
breach of social decorum. A brother would not think of
taking such a liberty with a sister, or a son with his mother.
Only on a visit of condolence do they make a pretence
of doing so to the person to whom the visit is paid ; and
this form of salute, in which the lips do not really touch
the face, is only permissible between persons of the same
sex.
Women bow respectfully to men without speaking or
looking at them. Children salute their parents in the same
manner and stand upright before them, with their arms
1 See Chapter III.
It has already been pointed out in a note to p. 42 that the Abbe is
wrong in translating sashtanga as ' six members ' instead of ' eight
members.' — Ed.
328 OFFERING CONDOLENCES
crossed on their chests. Whenever relatives or very great
friends meet after a long separation, they clasp each other
in their arms and take hold of each other's chin, shedding
tears of joy.
Hindus who visit or meet each other after a long absence
have, like ourselves, a set of commonplace phrases which
they make use of for want of anything better. But in
most cases the ideas they express are diametrically opposed
to ours. Thus, for instance, if we Europeans were speak-
ing to a friend or acquaintance, we should think he would
be pleased if we congratulated him on his appearance of
good health, his increased stoutness, or his good complexion,
&c. If we think him altered for the worse, we take care not
to let him see that we notice it, for fear it might pain him.
A Hindu, on the contrary, when he meets a friend, no
matter how strong and well he may be looking, never fails
to offer him the following greeting : ' How sadly you have
altered since I last saw you ! How thin and worn you
look ! I fear you must be very ill,' and other equally
consoling remarks. It would offend a Hindu deeply if
you were to say he was looking well on first meeting him.
Any one who was so ill advised as to make so indiscreet
a remark would certainly be suspected of feeling jealous,
envious, and regretful at the signs of health which were
the theme of his unfortunate compliments.
In the same way, you must never congratulate a Hindu
on his good luck ; you must not say that he has pretty
children, a lovely house, beautiful gardens, fine flocks and
herds, or that everything that he undertakes turns out
well, or that he is happy or lucky, &c. ; he would be sure
to think that envy prompted compliments of this kind.
Long ago, before I knew anything about Hindu etiquette,
I was walking one day at the edge of a large tank or lake,
where some men were fishing with nets. I stood still to
watch them, and seeing that they landed a quantity of
fish each time the nets were let down, I thought I might
congratulate them on their good luck. But my civility
had a most unlooked-for result, for these worthy people
gathered up their nets and their fish without a word, and
looking at me very indignantly, promptly went off, grum-
bling to each other under their breath : ' What have we done
MODE OF TAKING LEAVE 329
to this Feringhi guru that he comes here and is so jealous
of us * '
Just as we French and English do, but contrary to the
Spanish and Portuguese custom, the Hindus, in quitting
an apartment with a visitor, always allow him to walk
first. The object is to avoid turning one's back upon
a guest, and he, in turn, in order not to appear wanting
in politeness, walks sideways until both have passed the
threshold. When leaving the presence of a prince or any
great personage, it is customary, for the same reason, to
walk backwards until one is out of his presence ; and this
is also why a servant, when accompanying his master on
foot or on horseback, never walks in front of him.
It is considered good manners in India to blow your nose
with your fingers ; and there is nothing impolite in audibly
getting rid of flatulency. Persons of all ranks, indeed,
seem to rather encourage this habit, as according to them
it is a sure sign of a good digestion. It is certainly an
original, if somewhat disgusting spectacle to a European,
to see a large number of Brahmins coming away from
a feast indulging in a sort of competition as to who shall
give vent to the loudest eructations, calling out at the
same time, with emphatic gravity, ' Narayana ! ' as if to
thank Vishnu for his favours.
After sneezing a Hindu never fails to exclaim, ' Rama !
Rama 1 ' and no doubt there is some superstition attached
to this pious ejaculation l . Again, when a Brahmin yawns,
he snaps his fingers to the right and left to scare away evil
spirits and giants.
To tread on any one's foot, even by accident, demands
an immediate apology. This is done by stretching out
both hands towards the feet of the offended person. A
box on the ear is not considered a graver affront than a
1 One knows that amongst the old heathen nations a sneeze was
supposed to contain a great mystery. Old writers mention many facts
which prove what superstitious deductions credulous persons drew from
it. The custom of uttering a prayer or good wish on behalf of a person
who has sneezed has existed from time immemorial. The Greeks said
to such a person tfOi ; the Romans, ' Salve.* Though with us the
fashion of saying, ' May your wishes be granted ! ' or ' God bless you ! '
has rather gone out, politeness demands that at least you should make
a bow. — Dubois.
M 3
330 RULES OF ETIQUETTE
blow given with the fist, or a kick with the bare foot ; but
a blow on the head, should it knock off the turban, is a very
gross insult. By far the greatest indignity of all, however,
is to be struck with one of the shoes or sandals that Hindus
wear. Whoever submitted to such an insult without in-
sisting on receiving satisfaction, would be excluded from
his caste. The mere threat of such an insult is often
sufficient to provoke a criminal prosecution.
It is a mark of respect when women turn their backs on
men whom they hold in high esteem. At any rate, they
must turn away their faces or cover them with their saris.
Again, when they leave the house, propriety requires them
to proceed on their way without paying any attention to
the passers-by ; and if they see a man they are expected
to bow their heads and look in the opposite direction.
There are a good many, however, who are not always
quite so modest.
Any one who sees a person of high rank coming towards
him, must go off the road, if he is on foot, so as to leave
the way perfectly free, and if he is on horseback or in
a palanquin he must get down and remain standing until
the great person has passed and is some distance off. When
speaking to a superior, politeness demands that an inferior
should put his right hand before his mouth to prevent any
particle of his breath or saliva reaching and defiling him.
If an inferior meets a superior out of doors he must take
off his shoes before greeting him. A Hindu, moreover,
must never enter his own house, much less a stranger's,
with leather shoes on his feet.
In several of the Southern Provinces the Sudras are in
the habit of taking off the cloth which covers the upper
part of their bodies, winding it round their waists, and
standing with arms crossed on their chest while speaking
to a superior. The women of certain castes do the same
in the presence of their husbands, or of any man to whom
they wish to show respect. Their rules of propriety oblige
them to appear before men stripped to the waist ; and to
omit to do so would show a great want of good breeding.
When Brahmins are talking to a man of another caste,
or to a European from whom they have nothing to hope
or to fear, they stand with their hands behind their backs
CEREMONIOUS VISITS 331
— a position which signifies contempt for their interlocutor,
and which they are always very pleased to assume, to show
the sense of their own superiority. When they pay a visit,
no matter what may be the rank or dignity of their host,
they never wait till they are asked to take a seat, but do
so the instant they enter the room. People of all castes,
when visiting a superior, must wait until they are dismissed
before they can take leave.
There are several ceremonious visits which must be paid,
such as visits of condolence, visits at pongul, and several
others of which I shall speak later on. The feast of pongul
and the following days are mostly celebrated by presents
which near relatives make to each other, and which consist
of new earthen vessels on which certain designs are traced
in lime, also ground rice, fruit, sugar, saffron, &c. Such
gifts are conveyed with much solemnity and accompanied
by instruments of music. These little attentions are in-
dispensable in the case of certain individuals. For instance,
a mother must not neglect giving presents to her married
daughter ; otherwise the mother-in-law would resent the
omission to her dying day.
With them letters of condolence on occasions of mourning
can never take the place of a visit, as they so often do with
us. Some member of the family must go in person to wail
and lament, and perform the other ridiculous ceremonies
that are customary on such occasions, even though a journey
of fifty miles or more has to be made.
When a Hindu visits a person of importance for the first
time he must not omit to take presents with him, which
he will offer as a mark of respect, and to show that he comes
with friendly intentions. It is generally considered a lack
of good manners to appear with empty hands before any
one of superior position, or from whom a favour is expected.
Those whose means do not permit of their offering presents
of great value may bring such things as sugar, bananas,
cocoanuts, betel, &c.
In conclusion, it must be admitted that the laws of
etiquette and social politeness are much more clearly laid
down, and much better observed by all classes of Hindus,
even by the lowest, than they are by people of correspond-
ing social position in Europe.
332
CHAPTER XV
The Ornaments worn by Hindus. — The Different Marks with which they
adorn their Bodies.
Every Hindu, even including those who have made
a profession of penitence and have renounced the world,
wears earrings. The sannyasis or penitents, who are sup-
posed to have given up the three things which most natur-
ally tend to excite man's cupidity — that is to say, women,
honours, and riches — wear copper earrings in token of
humility. But generally such ornaments are made of
gold, and are of different shapes, though most frequently
oval. Occasionally these pendants are so large that one
can easily pass one's hand through them. Some are made
of copper wire, round which gold wire is so twisted as to
cover the copper completely. Those who are fairly well
off wear them with a large pearl or precious stone in the
centre.
These ear ornaments, which are sometimes of enormous
size, are another proof of the Hindu's strong attachment to
his old customs. All writers, both sacred and profane, bear
witness to the fact that similar ornaments have been worn
from time immemorial. On grand occasions, such as
marriage feasts, they put four or five pairs into their ears,
and at the end or in the centre of each of these is added
another small ornament set with some precious stone. In
some parts of the country a gold ring is also attached to
the cartilage which divides the nostrils. Poor people,
Pariahs included, who cannot afford to buy such valuable
ornaments, wear some small inexpensive trinket in their
ears. But, no matter what their caste or circumstances,
fashion decrees that no one shall be without this species
of adornment.
Rich Hindus wear round their necks gold chains or
strings of pearls with large medallions set with diamonds
which reach to their chests ; and you often see them
wearing gold finger-rings set with precious stones of great
value. They also frequently wear round their waists a
girdle made of gold or silver thread woven with much
taste and skill, and carry massive gold bracelets on their
PAINTING MARKS ON THE BODY 333
arms, which sometimes weigh as much as a pound each.
Married men wear silver rings on their toes \ Many,
again, tie above their elbows little hollow tubes of gold
or silver containing magical mantrams, which they wear as
charms to avert ill luck.
They have many other baubles of the same kind 2 . Even
the private parts of the children have their own particular
decorations. Little girls wear a gold or silver shield or
cod-piece on which is graven some indecent picture ; while
a boy's ornament, also of gold or silver, is an exact copy
of that member which it is meant to decorate.
Then there is the custom of painting the forehead and
other parts of the body with different figures and emblems
in various colours, a custom unknown elsewhere, but which
appears to have been common enough among ancient
nations. The simplest of all and the most common is the
one called pottu, which consists of a small circular mark
about an inch in diameter, placed in the centre of the
forehead. It is generally yellow, but sometimes red or
black in colour, and the paint is mixed with a sweet-smelling
paste made by rubbing sandalwood on a damp stone.
Instead of the pottu, some paint two or three horizontal
lines across their foreheads with the same mixture, and
others a perpendicular line from the top of the forehead
to the nose. Some Brahmins and some of the Hindus of
Northern India apply this paste to their cheeks rather
effectively. Others use it to decorate the neck, breast,
belly, and arms with different designs, while others again
smear their bodies all over with the mixture.
1 Brahmin men never wear such rings. — Ed.
2 The variety and number of ornaments is almost bewildering ; but
they all have their proper names and shapes. Indian artisans do not
need to rack their brains to invent novelties. There are no changing
fashions, either in dress or in ornaments. A woman can wear what
once belonged to her grandmother, or to one removed very many degrees
further back, for the matter of that, either clothes or jewels ; and this
without any incongruity, or exciting remark. There is a perpetual
recurrence of old patterns, improved, it may be, but the design will be
the same. Of course it is in jewels for females that the variety occurs
most. — Padfield.
It is a common belief among Hindus that there must always be at
least a speck of gold on one's person, in order to ensure personal cere-
monial purity. — Ed.
334 SMEARING WITH ASHES
Vishnavite Brahmins, as well as those of other castes
who are particularly devoted to the worship of Vishnu,
paint their foreheads with the emblem namam l , which
gives their faces a most extraordinary, and sometimes
even ferocious appearance. The most enthusiastic devo-
tees of this sect paint the same design on their shoulders,
arms, breast, and belly ; and the Bairagis, a sect who go
about stark naked, often draw it on their hinder parts.
The worshippers of Siva cover their foreheads and various
parts of their bodies with the ashes of cow-dung, or with
ashes taken from the places where the dead are burned 2 .
Some of them smear themselves all over from head to foot ;
others content themselves with smearing broad bars across
the arms, chest, and belly.
Many Hindus who do not belong to any sect in par-
ticular smear their foreheads with ashes. Brahmins, with
the exception of a very few who belong to some special
sect, do not follow this custom, though sometimes, after
they have performed their morning ablutions, they draw
a little horizontal line with ashes across their foreheads.
The Hindus also display on their bodies many other
marks and devices of different colours and designs, which
vary according to the different castes, sects, and provinces.
It would be difficult to explain the origin and meaning of
the greater number of these symbols ; those who wear
them are often themselves ignorant of their meaning.
Some, the pottu amongst the number, appear to have been
invented solely for ornament, but there is no doubt that,
as a rule, some superstitious meaning is attached to them.
Thus the ashes of cow-dung are used in memory of the
long penance of Siva and of several other holy personages,
who always covered themselves with these ashes in token
of humility.
Anyway, the Hindu code of good breeding requires that
the forehead shall be ornamented with a mark of some
sort. To keep it quite bare is a sign of mourning. It is
also a sign that the daily ablutions have not been per-
formed, that a person is still in a state of impurity, or that
1 See Chapter IX.
2 Ashes taken from burning-grounds are not usually employed now-
adays. — Ed.
COSMETIC USED BY WOMEN 335
he is still fasting. If one meets an acquaintance after
noon with his forehead still bare, one always asks if it is
because he has not yet broken his fast. It would be rude
to appear before decent people with no mark whatever on
the forehead.
Women attach much less importance than men to this
kind of decoration. As a rule, they are satisfied with
making the little round pothi mark on the forehead in red,
yellow, or black, or else a simple horizontal or perpendicular
line in red. But they have another kind of decoration of
which they are very fond. It consists in painting the face,
neck, arms, legs, and every part of the body that is visible
with a deep yellow cosmetic of saffron. Brahmin women
imagine that they thereby greatly enhance their beauty,
since it makes their skin appear less dusky. Love of
admiration no doubt has taught them that this paint gives
them an additional charm in the eyes of Hindus, but it
produces quite the contrary effect on Europeans, who think
them hideous and revolting when thus besmeared.
No doubt all these daubings appear very ridiculous in
our eyes, and it is difficult to believe that it can render
any one more attractive, at least according to our way of
thinking. But amongst the many artificial means of
adornment which caprice and fashion have forced upon us
there are several which excite just as much ridicule amongst
the Hindus. Thus, for instance, in the days when it was
the custom to powder the hair, they could not understand
how a young man with common sense could bring himself
to appear as if he had the white head of an old man. As
to wigs, Hindus are absolutely horrified at seeing a Euro-
pean, holding some important position, with his head
dressed out in hair which may have been taken from
a leper, or a corpse, or at best from a Pariah or prostitute.
To defile one's head with anything so unclean and abomin-
able is regarded by the Hindu as most horrible ! It would be
no great hardship to expose a bald head to free contact with
the air in such a warm climate, but were they all doomed
to severe colds, nothing would ever persuade the Hindus
to adopt the fashion of wearing wigs. And so we laugh at
them, and they at us. And this is the way of the world.
Yae tibi ! vae nigrae ! dicebat cacabus ollae.
336
CHAPTER XVI
Brahmin Wives. — The Education of Women. — Ceremonies which take
place when they arrive at a Marriageable Age, and during Preg-
nancy. — The Low Estimation in which Women are held in Private
Life. — The Respect that is paid to them in Public. — Their Clothing
and Ornaments.
The social condition of the Brahmanis, or wives of
Brahmins, differs very little from that of the women of
other castes, and I shall have little to say about it. This
interesting half of the human race, which exercises such
enormous power in other parts of the world, and often
decides the fate of empires, occupies in India a position
hardly better than that of slaves. Their only vocation in
life being to minister to man's physical pleasures and
wants, they are considered incapable of developing any of
those higher mental qualities which would make them
more worthy of consideration and also more capable of
playing a useful part in life. Their intellect is thought to
be of such a very low order, that when a man has done
anything particularly foolish or thoughtless his friends say
he has no more sense than a woman. And the women
themselves, when they are reproved for any serious fault
and find it difficult to make a good excuse, always end by
saying, ' After all, I am only a woman ! ' This is always
their last word, and one to which there is no possible
retort. One of the principal precepts taught in Hindu
books, and one that is everywhere recognized as true, is
that women should be kept in a state of dependence and
subjection all their lives, and under no circumstances should
they be allowed to become their own mistresses. A woman
must obey her parents as long as she is unmarried, and her
husband and mother-in-law afterwards. Even when she
becomes a widow she is not free, for her own sons become
her masters and have the right to order her about !
As a natural consequence of these views, female educa-
tion is altogether neglected. A young girl's mind remains
totally uncultivated, though many of them have good
abilities. In fact, of what use would learning or accom-
plishments be to women who are still in such a state of
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 337
domestic degradation and servitude ? All that a Hindu
woman need know is how to grind and boil rice and look
after her household affairs, which are neither numerous
nor difficult to manage.
Courtesans, whose business in life is to dance in the
temples and at public ceremonies, and prostitutes are the
only women who are allowed to learn to read, sing, or
dance. It would be thought a disgrace to a respectable
woman to learn to read ; and even if she had learnt she
would be ashamed to own it. As for dancing, it is left
absolutely to courtesans ; and even they never dance with
men. Respectable women sometimes amuse themselves
by singing when they are alone, looking after their house-
hold duties, and also on the occasions of weddings or other
family festivities ; but they would never dare to sing in
public or before strangers.
Such feminine occupations as knitting or needlework
are quite unknown to them ; and moreover any talents
that they might develop in this direction would be wasted,
as their clothing consists of one long piece of coloured
calico, without any join or seam in it, though most of them
know how to card and spin cotton, and very few houses
are without one or more spinning-wheels \
I have already described what takes place when a young
girl, who has been married in her early childhood, arrives
at the age when she is fit to live with her husband (Chapter
VI). These festivities are called the consummation of the
marriage.
The young woman herself cannot appear, because she
is, for the first time in her life, in a state of uncleanness,
and for several days she is obliged to remain in a separate
part of the house. But after she has gone through the
usual rites of purification she returns to the family, and
numberless other ceremonies are performed over her,
amongst others several which are supposed to counteract
the effects of witchcraft or the evil eye. She is then con-
ducted with much pomp to her husband's house.
1 Many Hindu women and girls now do needlework of some kind,
and it is taught in most of the girls' schools. The old-fashioned mothers-
in-law complain that this new departure has proved detrimental to the
performance of the more ordinary household duties. — Ed.
338 DOMESTIC QUARRELS
The Sudras, and even the Pariahs, have grand festivities
when their daughters, though still unmarried, arrive at
a marriageable age. The event is announced to the public
with all the outward show that accompanies the most
solemn ceremonies. A pandal is erected ; toranams or
strings of mango-leaves are hung in front of the entrance
door of the house ; feasts are given ; much music re-
sounds. In fact, it is a kind of advertisement or invitation
to young men in want of a wife.
When a Brahmin's wife becomes pregnant there are
endless ceremonies to be performed, some indeed for each
separate month. In any caste it would be considered a
disgrace to the woman, and in a less degree to her parents,
if her first child were born anywhere but under the paternal
roof. Her mother accordingly comes and fetches her about
the seventh month of her pregnancy, and she is not allowed
to return to her own home till her health is entirely re-
established. When she departs her mother is supposed to
give her a new piece of cotton cloth and some more or less
valuable ornaments according to her means and her caste.
But in no case would the woman, to whatever caste she
might belong, return from her parents' to her husband's
house unless her mother-in-law or some equally near
relation came to fetch her. Her husband has to conform
to this custom when his wife chooses to leave him and
takes refuge under the paternal roof, sometimes for a mere
whim, or for some very trifling cause. But in any case,
even when the fault is all on her side, the husband must
go and fetch her back.
These domestic quarrels and separationsoccur frequently,
and are generally the fault of the mother-in-law, who looks
upon her son's wife as a slave that has been bought and
paid for. The elder woman, indeed, lives in constant
dread of her daughter-in-law obtaining too much ascend-
ency over the husband, and by this means contriving her
own emancipation ; and accordingly seizes every oppor-
tunity of breeding discord between them. This fear is,
as a rule, perfectly uncalled for ; for the men themselves
show very little inclination to be ruled by their wives, and
condescend to very little of what we call conjugal tender-
ness in their relations with them.
DEFERENCE SHOWN TOWARDS HUSBANDS 339
The women, on the other hand, are so thoroughly accus-
tomed to harsh and domineering treatment from their
husbands that they would be quite annoyed if the hus-
bands adopted a more familiar tone. I once knew a native
lady who complained bitterly that her husband sometimes
affected to be very devoted to her in public and allowed
himself such little familiarities as are looked upon by us
as marks of affection. ' Such behaviour,' said she, ' covers
me with shame and confusion. I dare not show myself
anywhere. Did any one ever see such bad manners
amongst people of our caste ? Has he become a Feringhi
(European), and does he take me for one of their vile
women
i I
As a rule a husband addresses his wife in terms which
show how little he thinks of her. Servant, slave, &c, and
other equally flattering appellations, fall quite naturally
from his lips.
A woman, on the other hand, never addresses her hus-
band except in terms of the greatest humility. She speaks
to him as my master, my lord, and even sometimes my god.
In her awe of him she does not venture to call him by his
name ; and should she forget herself in this way in a moment
of anger, she would be thought a very low class of person,
and would lay herself open to personal chastisement from
her offended spouse. She must be just as particular in
speaking of him to any one else : indeed, the Hindus are
very careful never to put a woman under the necessity of
mentioning her husband by name. If by chance a Euro-
pean, who is unacquainted with this point of etiquette,
obliges her to do so, he will see her blush and hide her
face behind her sari and turn away without answering,
smiling at the same time with contemptuous pity at such
ignorance.
Politeness also forbids you to address a person of higher
rank by his name.
But if women enjoy very little consideration in private
life, they are in some degree compensated by the respect
1 It may be noted that at marriage feasts, &c., the males and females
keep apart ; and furthermore the usual personal invitations to such
feasts are invariably conveyed to men by men, and to women by women.
—Ed.
340 RESPECT FOR WOMEN IN PUBLIC
which is paid to them in public. They do not, it is true,
receive those insipid compliments which we have agreed
to consider polite ; but then, on the other hand, they are
safe from the risk of insult. A Hindu woman can go any-
where alone, even in the most crowded places, and she need
never fear the impertinent looks and jokes of idle loungers.
This appears to me to be really remarkable in a country
where the moral depravity of the inhabitants is carried
to such lengths. A house inhabited solely by women is
a sanctuary which the most shameless libertine would not
dream of violating. To touch a respectable woman even
with the end of your finger would be considered highly
indecorous, and a man who meets a female acquaintance
in the street does not venture to stop and speak to her.
When travelling the men walk in front and the women
follow some distance behind. You very rarely see the
men address a word to their humble followers. If they
come to a river which has to be forded the women tuck up
their cloths above the hips, and in this naked state they
approach near enough to their travelling companions to
permit of the latter stretching out a helping hand behind
them to help them to withstand the force of the current ;
but never would you see any one under these circumstances
commit an indiscretion like that which caused Orpheus to
lose his Eurydice.
I have often spent the night in one of the common rest-
houses, where the men and women lodging there were lying
all huddled together anyhow and almost side by side ;
but I have never known or heard of any one disturbing
the tranquillity of the night by indecent act or word. Should
any person be so ill-advised as to attempt anything of the
sort, the whole room would be up in arms against him in a
moment, and prompt chastisement would follow the offence.
A woman's costume consists of a simple piece of cotton
cloth, made all in one piece, and woven expressly for the
purpose. It is from 30 to 40 feet long, and rather more
than 4 feet wide. All sorts and kinds are made, in every
shade and at every price, and they always have a border
of a contrasting colour. The women wind part of this
cloth two or three times round their waists, and it forms
a sort of narrow petticoat which falls to the feet in front ;
A HINDU WOMAN'S COSTUME 341
it does not come so far down behind, as one of the ends of
the cloth is tucked in at the waist after passing between
the legs, which are thus left bare as far as, or even above,
the calf. This arrangement is peculiar to Brahmin women ;
those of other castes arrange their draperies with more
decency and modesty. The other end of the cloth covers
the shoulders, head, and chest. Thus the clothing for both
sexes is made without seams or sewing — an undeniable
convenience, considering how often they have to bathe
themselves and wash their garments ; for Brahmin women
have to observe the same rules of purification as the men,
and are equally zealous in the performance of this duty.
The custom of women veiling their faces has never been
practised in India, though it has been in use among many
other Asiatic nations from time immemorial. Here the
women always go about with their faces uncovered, and in
some parts of the country they also expose the upper half
of their bodies *.
Quiet and retired as is the life of a Hindu woman, it
cannot be said to be one of complete and rigorous seclusion.
Though all friendly intercourse with men is forbidden to
them, still they may talk to those who come to the house
as friends or acquaintances without fear of unpleasant
consequences. Eunuchs — those deplorable victims of
Oriental jealousy — are unknown in India, and the natives
never dream of putting the virtue of their women under
the care of these miserable beings. They are not to be
found even in the palace of a prince, where women are
always guarded and waited on by women.
In several parts of India young girls and married women
wear a sort of little bodice under their cloth, which covers
the breast, shoulders, and arms as far as the elbows ; but
this, I am told, is a modern innovation, and borrowed from
the Mahomedans.
I have reason to believe that the custom of leaving all
the upper part of the body uncovered as far as the waist
was formerly common to both sexes in the southern parts
of India. It still prevails on the Malabar coast, and in
the neighbouring provinces.
1 This custom still prevails in Malabar and Travancore, but it is
gradually dying out amongst the educated classes. — Ed.
342 DRESSING THE HAIR
The custom of tattooing the arms of young girls with
indelible designs of figures or flowers is very general. I
have already described how this tattooing is done. When
their skin is not very dark they generally ornament their
faces in the same way, by putting three or four spots on
the cheeks and chin. These marks produce very much
the same effect as the black patches which were once the
fashion with European ladies. I have already mentioned
the habit which the beauties of India and Brahmin ladies
observe of painting all the visible parts of their bodies
with yellow saffron, and also of darkening their eyelids
with antimony.
In order to make their hair more glossy and silky they
frequently oil it. They part it exactly in the middle, and
then roll it up behind into a sort of chignon, which is
fastened behind the left ear. To make this chignon larger
they often insert some tow, or else some cotton wool
specially prepared for the purpose. Hindu women gener-
ally possess beautiful black hair, which is soft and straight.
It is very rarely to be seen of any other colour. They are
much given to wearing sweet-smelling flowers in their hair,
and also ornaments of gold, none of any other metal being
permissible, though they sometimes use a silver buckle to
fasten the hair together at the back.
Silver ornaments may be worn on the arms, but are more
frequently used to decorate the feet and ankles -. Some
of their anklets are actual fetters, weighing as much as
two or three pounds. There are special rings made for
each toe, often entirely covering them.
Bracelets are sometimes made hollow, and are more than
an inch in diameter. They are of different patterns, accord-
ing to the country in which they are made and the caste of
the person who wears them. They are worn either above
the elbow or round the wrist, and are made of gold or
silver, as the means of the wearer will allow. Quite poor
women wear copper bracelets, and some have more than
half their fore-arms covered with glass bangles.
Neck ornaments consist of gold or silver chains, or strings
1 It is remarkable that gold ornaments are never worn by Hindus on
the feet, the reason being that it is a sacred metal, and would be thereby
defiled. — Ed.
FEMININE ORNAMENTS 343
of large gold beads, pearls, or coral. In fact, beads of all
kinds and of greater or less value are much in demand.
Some women wear necklaces more than an inch wide, set
with rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones. But to
enumerate all the different kinds of ornaments worn by
Hindu ladies would take a very long time. To give a single
instance, I could mention eighteen or twenty different kinds
of ornaments that are used for the ears alone.
Even the nose is considered a suitable object for decora-
tion. The right nostril and the division between the two
nostrils are sometimes weighted with an ornament that
hangs down as far as the under lip. When the wearers
are at meals, they are obliged to hold up this pendant with
one hand, while feeding themselves with the other. At
first this strange ornament, which varies with different
castes, has a hideous effect in the eyes of Europeans, but
after a time, when one becomes accustomed to it, it gradu-
ally seems less unbecoming, and at last one ends by thinking
it quite an ornament to the face.
It is no uncommon sight to see a woman decked out in
all her jewels drawing water, grinding rice, cooking food,
and attending to all the menial domestic occupations, from
which even the wives of Brahmins do not consider them-
selves exempt.
It is, of course, needless to remark that all this extrava-
gant display is very often obtained only at the sacrifice
of other more useful and necessary requirements in their
homes.
When a girl marries, everything that she receives from
her future father-in-law, or that she takes away with her
from her old home, is most clearly and distinctly set down,
item by item, in a kind of legal document. All these things
are her own personal property, which she takes care to
claim when she becomes a widow.
CHAPTER XVII
Rules of Conduct for Married Women.
« Nothing serves so well to illustrate the attitude and
behaviour of Hindus towards their wives as the rules of
344 DUTIES OF A FAITHFUL WIFE
conduct which are prescribed for the latter in the Padma-
purana, one of their most valued books : rules which I will
translate literally. They are reputed to be the work of
the famous penitent Vasishta, who recommends their
observance by every faithful wife. I cannot say that I
altogether approve of them ; some of them appear to me
absurd ; others there are which, from a social point of
view, are harmful ; all of them evidently have for their
object the reduction of this interesting ' better half ' of
the human race to the lowest state of subjection. It is
not to be wondered at, therefore, if we find many foolish
examples of Hindu superstition, which is a necessary
element in every institution of the country. Order and
continuity are not so conspicuous as one might desire
in the ideas of the great penitent Vasishta ; but I give
a passage closely following the original, as a specimen of
the style of writing that prevails among the Hindus : —
1 Give ear to me attentively, great King of Dilipa ! I will
expound to thee how a wife attached to her husband and
devoted to her duties ought to behave.
* There is no other god on earth for a woman than her
husband. The most excellent of all the good works that
she can do is to seek to please him by manifesting perfect
obedience to him. Therein should lie her sole rule of
life.
' Be her husband deformed, aged, infirm, offensive in
his manners ; let him also be choleric, debauched, immoral,
a drunkard, a gambler ; let him frequent places of ill-
repute, live in open sin with other women, have no affec-
tion whatever for his home ; let him rave like a lunatic ;
let him live without honour ; let him be blind, deaf, dumb,
or crippled ; in a word, let his defects be what they may,
let his wickedness be what it may, a wife should always
look upon him as her god, should lavish on him all her
attention and care, paying no heed whatsoever to his
character and giving him no cause whatsoever for dis-
pleasure.
* A woman is made to obey at every stage of her exist-
ence. As daughter, it is to her father and mother she
owes submission ; as wife, to her husband, to her father-
in-law, and to her mother-in-law ; as widow, to her sons;
MODEST DEMEANOUR 345
At no period of her life can she consider herself her own
mistress.
' She must always be attentive and diligent in all her
domestic duties ; she should be ever watchful over her
temper, never covetous of the goods of others, never
quarrelsome with her neighbours, never neglectful of work
without her husband's permission, and always calm in her
conduct and deportment.
1 Should she see anything which she is desirous of pos-
sessing, she must not seek to acquire it without the consent
of her husband. If her husband receives the visit of
a stranger, she shall retire with bent head and shall con-
tinue her work without paying the least attention to him.
She must concentrate her thoughts on her husband only,
and must never look another man in the face. In acting
thus, she will win the praise of everybody.
1 Should any man make proposals to her, and endeavour
to seduce her by offering her rich clothes or jewels of great
value, by the gods ! let her take good care not to lend an
ear to him, let her hasten to flee from him.
■ If her husband laugh, she must laugh ; if he be sad,
she must be sad ; if he weep, she must weep ; if he ask
questions, she must answer. Thus will she give proofs of
her good disposition.
' She must take heed not to remark that another man is
young, handsome, or well proportioned, and, above all, she
must not speak to him. Such modest demeanour will
secure for her the reputation of a faithful spouse.
' It shall even be the same with her who, seeing before
her the most beautiful gods, shall regard them disdainfully
and as though they were not worthy of comparison with
her husband.
' A wife must eat only after her husband has had his fill.
If the latter fast, she shall fast too ; if he touch not food,
she also shall not touch it ; if he be in affliction, she shall
be so too ; if he be cheerful, she shall share his joy. A
good wife should be less devoted to her sons, or to her
grandsons, or to her jewels than to her husband. She
must, on the death of her husband, allow herself to be burnt
alive on the same funeral pyre ; then everybody will praise
her virtue.
346 CLEANLINESS AND ECONOMY
* She cannot lavish too much affection on her father-in-
law, her mother-in-law, and her husband ; and should she
perceive that they are squandering all the family substance
in extravagance, she would be wrong to complain and still
more wrong to oppose them.
' She should always be ready to perform the various
duties of her house, and to perform them diligently.
1 Let her bathe every day, rubbing saffron on her body.
Let her attire be clean, her eyelids tinged with antimony,
and her forehead marked with red pigment. Let her hair
be well combed and adorned. Thus shall she be like unto
the goddess Lakshmi.
' Before her husband let her words fall softly and sweetly
from her mouth ; and let her devote herself to pleasing
him every day more and more.
1 She must be careful to sweep her house every day, to
smooth the floor with a layer of cow-dung, and to decorate
it with white tracery. She must keep the cooking vessels
clean, and must be ready with the meals at the proper hours.
' If her husband be gone out to fetch supplies of wood,
leaves, or flowers to perform the sandhya, or for any other
purpose, she shall watch for the moment of his return and
shall go to meet him. She shall go before him into the
house, shall hand him a stool to sit down upon, and shall
serve up the food prepared to his taste.
1 She shall inform him in time of what is wanted in the
house, and shall manage with care what he brings home.
' Prudent in her conversation, she must be careful, in
conversing with gurus, sannyasis, strangers, servants, and
other persons, to adopt a tone suitable to the position of
each.
' In exercising in her house the authority given to her
by her husband, she must do so gently and intelligently.
1 She must, as in duty bound, use for the expenses of
her household all the money with which her husband
entrusts her, not taking any of it surreptitiously for herself
or for her parents, or even, without her husband's permis-
sion, for works of charity.
1 She must never meddle with the affairs of others, nor
lend ear to stories of the good luck or misfortune which
has befallen others.
BEHAVIOUR DURING PREGNANCY 347
* Never let her yield to anger or malice.
' Let her abstain from all food that is not to her hus-
band's taste. Let her not oil her head when her husband
does not oil his own.
1 If her husband go away anywhere and ask her to
accompany him, let her follow him ; if he tell her to remain
at home, let her not leave the house during his absence.
Until his return she shall not bathe, or anoint her head
with oil, or clean her teeth, or pare her nails ; she shall
eat but once a day, shall not lie down on a bed, or wear
new clothes, or adorn her forehead with any of the ordinary
marks 1 .
1 A woman during her menstrual period shall retire for
three days to a place apart. During this time, she shall
not look at anybody, not even at her children, or at the
light of the sun. On the fourth day she shall bathe, observ-
ing the proper rites for such occasions which were estab-
lished before the Kali-yuga 2 .
- A woman, when she is pregnant, must conform to all
the rites prescribed for such occasions. She must then
avoid the company of women of doubtful virtue and of
those who have lost all their children ; she must drive
away from her mind all sad thoughts ; she must be careful
not to gaze at terrifying objects, or to listen to sad stories,
or to eat anything indigestible 3 . By observing these rules,
she will have beautiful children ; by neglecting them she
will risk a miscarriage.
' A wife, during the absence of her husband, should
strictly conform to his parting counsels. She should be
heedless of her attire, and should not devote herself, under
the plea of devotion to the gods, to any special acts of
piety.
' If a husband keep two wives, the one should not amuse
herself at the expense of the other, be it for good or for
evil ; neither should the one talk about the beauty or the
1 These restrictions are not observed nowadays. — Ed.
a The hermit Vasishta here describes these practices. I will explain
them in Appendix IV. — Dubois.
Nowadays a woman in this condition is not forbidden communication
with her children. — Ed.
3 It may be added that a cocoanut is never broken in the presence of
a pregnant woman. — Ed.
348 RETURNING GOOD FOR EVIL
ugliness of the children of the other. They must live on
good terms, and must avoid addressing unpleasant and
offensive remarks to each other.
* In the presence of her husband, a wife must not look
about her, but must keep her eyes fixed on him, in readi-
ness to receive his orders. When he speaks, she must not
interrupt him, nor speak to anybody else ; when he calls
her, she must leave everything and run to him.
1 If he sing, she must be in ecstasy ; if he dance, she
must look at him with delight ; if he speak of learned
things, she must listen to him with admiration. In his
presence indeed she ought always to be cheerful, and never
show signs of sadness or discontent.
' Let her carefully avoid creating domestic squabbles on
the subject of her parents, or on account of another woman
whom her husband may wish to keep, or on account of
any unpleasant remark which may have been addressed
to her. To leave the house for reasons such as these
would expose her to public ridicule, and would give cause
for much evil speaking.
, ' If her husband flies into a passion, threatens her, abuses
her grossly, even beats her unjustly, she shall answer him
meekly, shall lay hold of his hands, kiss them, and beg his
pardon, instead of uttering loud cries and running away
from the house.
' She must not say to her husband : " Thou hast hurt
me, thou hast beaten me unjustly ; I will no more speak
to thee ; hereafter the relations between ourselves will be
no other than those between a father and his daughter, or
a brother and his sister. I shall no more have anything
to do with thy affairs ; I will no longer have anything in
common with thee." Such words ought never to fall from
her lips.
' If any of her relatives or friends invite her to their
house on the occasion of some feast or ceremony, she shall
not go there without the permission of her husband, and
unless accompanied by some elderly woman. She shall
remain there for as short a time as possible, and on her return
she shall render a faithful account to her husband of all that
she has seen or heard ; she shall then resume her domestic
duties.
BLESSINGS ASSURED TO A GOOD WIFE 349
1 While her husband is absent, she shall sleep with one of
her female relatives, and not alone. She shall make con-
stant inquiries after the health of her husband. She shall
send constant messages to him to return as soon as possible,
and shall offer up prayers to the gods for him.
' Let all her words and actions give public proof that she
looks upon her husband as her god. Honoured by every-
body, she shall thus enjoy the reputation of a faithful and
virtuous spouse.
' If, in the event of her husband dying, she resolves to
die with him, glorious and happy will she be in the world
to which her husband will lead her after his death. But
whether she dies before or with her husband, or whether
she survives him, a virtuous wife may rest assured that all
sorts of blessings will await her in the other world.
' A wife can enjoy no true happiness unless she attains
it through her husband ; it is he who gives her children ;
it is he who provides her with clothes and jewels ; it is he
who supplies her with flowers, sandalwood, saffron, and all
good things.
' It is also through his wife that a husband enjoys the
pleasures of this world ; that is a maxim taught in all our
learned books. It is through his wife that he does good
works, that he acquires riches and honour, and that he
succeeds in his enterprises. A man without a wife is an
imperfect being.'
These rules of conduct may seem extremely severe, yet
they are faithfully observed, especially among the Brah-
mins.
Among certain sects of the Vishnavite Brahmins a
peculiar custom exists. A daughter-in-law is never allowed
to speak to her mother-in-law. When she wishes to com-
municate anything to her, she does it by signs ; and when
the mother-in-law gives orders to the daughter-in-law, the
latter answers by an inclination of the head, thereby in-
dicating that she has understood the orders given her.
She, however, at times manages to make up for this en-
forced silence by having recourse to spirited and expressive
gestures : so much so, that her dumb repartees often cause
her mother-in-law to boil with rage.
350
CHAPTER XVIII
Mourning. — The Condition of Widowhood. — The General Contempt for
Widows. — Remarriages forbidden.
The happiest death for a woman is that which overtakes
her while she is still in a wedded state. Such a death is
looked upon as the reward of goodness extending back for
many generations 1 ; on the other hand, the greatest mis-
fortune that can befall a wife is to survive her husband.
Should the husband die first, as soon as he breathes his
last the widow attires herself in her best clothes and bedecks
herself with all her jewels 2 . Then, with all the signs of
the deepest grief, she throws herself on his body, embracing
it and uttering loud cries. She holds the corpse tightly
clasped in her arms until her parents, generally silent
spectators of this scene, are satisfied that this first demon-
stration of grief is sufficient, when they restrain her from
these sad embraces. She yields to their efforts with great
reluctance, and with repeated pretences of escaping out of
their hands and rushing once again to the lifeless remains
of her husband. Then, finding her attempts useless, she
rolls on the ground like one possessed, strikes her breast
violently, tears out her hair, and manifests many other
signs of the deepest despair. Now, are these noisy profes-
sions of grief and affliction to be attributed to an excess of
conjugal affection, to real sorrow ? The answer will appear
rather perplexing, when we remark that it is the general
custom to act in this manner, and that all these demon-
strations are previously arranged as a part of the ceremonies
of mourning.
After the first outbursts of grief, she rises, and, assuming
a more composed look, approaches her husband's body.
Then in one continuous strain, which would be hardly
possible under real affliction, she apostrophizes her husband
in a long series of questions, of which I give a summary
as follows : —
1 Children are even consoled with the thought, when their mothers
die in a wedded state. — Ed.
3 This is the last occasion on which she is allowed to wear ornaments
of any kind. — Ed.
APOSTROPHIZING THE DEAD 351
■ Why hast thou forsaken me ? What wrong have I done
thee, that thou shouldst thus leave me in the prime of my
life ? Had I not for thee all the fondness of a faithful
wife ? Have I not always been virtuous and pure ? Have
I not borne thee handsome children ? Who will bring
them up ? Who will take care of them hereafter ? Was
I not diligent in all the duties of the household ? Did I
not sweep the house every day, and did I not make the
floor smooth and clean ? Did I not ornament the floor
with white tracery ? Did I not cook good food for thee ?
Didst thou find grit in the rice that I prepared for thee ?
Did I not serve up to thee food such as thou lovedst, well
seasoned with garlic, mustard, pepper, cinnamon, and other
spices ? Did I not forestall thee in all thy wants and
wishes ? What didst thou lack whilst I was with thee ?
Who will take care of me hereafter ? '
And so on. At the end of each sentence uttered in
a plaintive chanting tone, she pauses to give free vent to
her sobs and shrieks, which are also uttered in a kind of
rhythm. The women that stand around join her in her
lamentations, chanting in chorus with her. Afterwards,
she addresses the gods, hurling against them torrents of
blasphemies and imprecations. She accuses them openly
of injustice in thus depriving her of her protector. This
scene lasts till her eloquence becomes exhausted, or till
her lungs are wearied out and she is no longer capable of
giving utterance to her lamentations. She then retires
to take rest for a while, and to prepare some new phrases
against the time when the body is being prepared for the
funeral pyre.
The more vehement the expression of a woman's grief,
the more eloquent and demonstrative her phrases, the more
apparently genuine her contortions on such occasions, so
much the more is she esteemed a woman of intelligence
and education. The young women who are present pay
the most minute attention to all that she says or does ;
and if they observe anything particularly striking in her
flights of rhetoric, in her attitudes, or in any of her efforts
to excite the attention of the spectators, they carefully
treasure it in their memory, to be made use of should
a similar misfortune ever happen to themselves. If a wife
352 professional women mourners
who was really afflicted by the loss of her husband confined
herself to shedding real tears and uttering real sobs, she
would only be thoroughly despised and considered an idiot.
The parents of a young widow once complained to me of
her stupidity as follows : ' So foolish is she that, on the
death of her husband, she did not utter a single word ;
she did nothing but cry, without saying anything V
In several parts of India, as formerly among tbe Greeks
and Romans, professional women mourners may be hired.
When called in to attend the obsequies, these women arrive
with dishevelled hair and only half clothed, wearing their
scanty garments in a disordered fashion. Collecting in
a group round the deceased, they commence by setting
up in unison the most doleful cries, at the same time
beating their breasts in measured time. They weep, sob,
and shriek in turns. Then addressing themselves to the
deceased, each in succession eulogizes his virtues and good
qualities. Anon they apostrophize him, vehemently re-
monstrating with him for quitting life so soon. Finally,
they point out to him, in the plainest possible terms, that
he could not have committed a more foolish act. In dis-
charging these duties, which are a curious mixture of
tragedy and comedy, they take turn and turn about, and
their affected sorrow lasts until the corpse is removed.
As soon as the obsequies are over, they receive their wages,
and their faces, which were so lugubrious a few moments
before, once more assume their wonted calmness.
Widows, who in the learned tongue are called vidhava,
a word akin to the Latin vidua, are held in much less
respect than other women ; and when they happen to have
no children, they are generally looked upon with the
utmost scorn. The very fact of meeting a widow is calcu-
lated to bring ill-luck. They are called moonda, a reproach-
ful term which means ' shorn-head,' because every widow
is supposed to have her hair cut off. This rule, however,
is not everywhere followed, especially among the Sudras 2 .
1 The Hebrews also, on the death of friends and relatives, made a great
parade of all the external signs of sorrow. They cried, rent their gar-
ments, beat their breasts, tore out their hair or beards, or else had them
cut, and even inflicted cuts on their bodies. See Leviticus xix. 28,
xxi. 5 ; Jeremiah xvi. 6, &c. — Dubois.
2 And also among the Tengalai Vaishnava Brahmins. — Ed.
TOKENS OF WIDOWHOOD 353
When women quarrel, this opprobrious term, moonda, is
generally the first abusive word that passes.
A widow has to be in mourning till her death. The
signs of mourning are as follows : — She is expected to have
her head shorn once a month ; she is not allowed to chew
betel ; she is no longer permitted to wear jewels, with the
exception of one very plain ornament round her neck ; she
must wear coloured clothes no longer, only pure white
ones ; she must not put saffron on her face or body, or
mark her forehead \ Furthermore, she is forbidden to
take part in any amusement or to attend family festivities,
such as marriage feasts, the ceremony of upanayana, and
others ; for her very presence would be considered an evil
omen.
A very few days after the death of her husband, a widow's
house is invaded by female friends and relatives, who
begin by eating a meal prepared for them. After this
they surround the widow and exhort her to bear her miser-
able lot with fortitude. One after another they take her
in their arms, shed tears with her, and end by pushing
her violently to the ground. They next join together in
lamenting her widowhood, and finally make her sit on a
small stool. Then, one of her nearest female relatives,
having previously muttered some religious formulae, cuts
the thread of the tali, the gold ornament which every
married woman in India wears round her neck. The
barber is called in, and her head is clean shaved. This
double ceremony sinks her instantly into the despised and
hated class of widows. During the whole time that these
curious and mournful rites are being performed, the un-
fortunate victim is making the whole house resound with
her cries of woe, cursing her sad lot a thousand times.
The thread of the tali must be cut, not untied. This
practice has given rise to a very common curse ; two
women when quarrelling never forget to say to each other :
' May you have your tali cut ! ' which means, ' May you
become a widow ! '
The signs of sorrow manifested by a Hindu lady who
1 She must, however, smear her forehead with sacred ashes if she is
a widow of the Saiva sect, and mark her forehead with red powder if
a Vaishnava. — Ed.
DUBOIS N
354 THE SAD FATE OF WIDOWS
loses her husband are of so exaggerated a description that
one cannot help doubting their perfect sincerity; yet it is
impossible that any Hindu widow could face the sad future
awaiting her with tearless eyes. Doomed to perpetual
widowhood, cast out of society, stamped with the seal of
contumely, she has no consolation whatever, except maybe
the recollection of hardships that she has had to endure
during her married life.
I do not refer here to those unfortunate girls of five or
six years of age, who, married to Brahmins of over sixty,
very often become widows before they attain the age of
puberty. Fortunately their youth and inexperience pre-
vent their brooding over the sad condition in which they
have been placed by such inhuman and iniquitous pre-
judices. But think of the numberless young widows in
the prime of life and strength. How do they bear up
against this cruel expulsion from the society of their fellow-
creatures ? The answer is, Better than one would be in-
clined to believe. The fact is, they must perforce be
resigned to their fate ; and however despised a widow
may be, there is this consolation, that one who remarries
is a hundred times more so, for she is shunned absolutely
by every honest and respectable person. Thus there are
few widows who would not look upon proposals to remarry
as a downright insult, though in this respect they are
seldom put to the test. Even an old gouty Brahmin, as
poor as Irus, would feel indignant at the very suggestion
of marrying a widow, though she were rich and endowed
with all the charms of youth and beauty.
One result of this prejudice, which is firmly and irre-
vocably established in India, is that the country abounds
with widows, especially among the Brahmins. Among this
caste shorn-heads are to be seen everywhere. Of course
a certain corruption of morals is the inevitable result of
such a state of things, but it is not pushed to such an
extent as might be expected. The natural modesty of
Hindu women, the way in which they are brought up,
their ordinarily chaste and circumspect demeanour, the
calmness of their passions : all these go a great way towards
providing as it were strong barriers against the attacks of
the licentious, who, whatever may be said to the contrary
WIDOWS SELDOM SEDUCED 355
by ill-informed writers, do not succeed in winning over
women of the better class so easily as in many other coun-
tries where the lawful union of the two sexes is not beset
with so many obstacles.
Besides, even if we refuse to believe that young widows
possess in themselves sufficient strength of will to resist
seduction, there are many other obstacles beyond their
own control, which also serve as so many bulwarks to their
modesty. Chief among such obstacles must be reckoned
the diligent watchfulness exercised over them by their
parents ; the severity of the convenances which forbid any
kind of familiar intercourse between men and women ; the
very heavy punishments which follow even the most trivial
lapses ; and, finally, the mere disgrace, which in India,
above all countries of the world, entails the most tremendous
penalties on the person detected in an indiscretion l .
CHAPTER XIX
The Custom which at times obliges Widows to allow themselves to be
burnt alive on the Funeral Pyre of their Deceased Husbands.
Although the ancient and barbarous custom which
imposes the duty on widows of sacrificing themselves
voluntarily on the funeral pyre of their husbands has not
been expressly abolished, it is much more rare nowadays
than formerly, especially in the southern parts of the
Peninsula. In the North of India and in the provinces
bordering on the Ganges, however, women are only too
frequently seen offering themselves as victims of this horrid
superstition, and, either through motives of vanity or
through a spirit of blind enthusiasm, giving themselves
up to a death which is as cruel as it is foolish.
The Mahomedan rulers never tolerated this horrible
practice in the provinces subject to them ; but, notwith-
standing their prohibition, wretched fanatics have more
1 The social reformers of the present day are doing all that they can
to encourage the remarriage of virgin widows, those unhappy girls who,
married before they come of age, become widows before cohabitation
with their husbands is possible. So far, however, the success which
these reformers have met with is extremely small, and those who brave
caste custom in this respect are invariably outcasted. — Ed.
356 SUTTEE OPTIONAL FOR WIDOWS
than once succeeded in bribing the subordinate repre-
sentatives of authority to give permission to commit the
deed in violation of the laws of humanity and common
sense.
The great European Power which nowadays exercises its
sway all over the country has tried, by all possible means
of persuasion, to put an end altogether to this barbarous
custom ; but its efforts have been only partially successful,
and, generally speaking, it has been obliged to shut its
eyes to this dreadful practice, since any attempt to remedy
it by force would have exposed it to dangerous opposi-
tion.
Nobody is a greater admirer than myself of the wise
spirit that animates this enlightened and liberal Govern-
ment in manifesting to its Hindu subjects such a full and
perfect tolerance in the practice of their civil and religious
usages ; and nobody is more fully alive than I am to the
dangers and difficulties that an open defiance of these pre-
judices, which are looked upon as sacred and inviolable,
would give rise to. But does the abominable custom in
question form part of Hindu institutions ? Are there any
rules which prescribe its observance by certain castes ? All
the information which I have been able to gather on the
subject tends to make me believe that there are no such
rules. The infamous practice, although encouraged by the
impostors who regulate religious worship, is nowhere pre-
scribed in an imperative manner in the Hindu books. It
is left entirely to the free will and pleasure of the victims
who thus sacrifice themselves. No blame and no discredit
are attached nowadays to the wife whose own honest
judgement suggests that she ought not to be in such a
hurry to rejoin in the other world the husband who so often
made her wretched in this. It would be quite possible,
therefore, by the display of firmness, combined with pru-
dence, to strike, without any considerable danger, at the
very root of this shocking practice. Certainly it reflects
discredit on the Government which tolerates it and mani-
fests no great indignation ! with regard to it.
1 During recent years, owing to the number of these abominable
sacrifices being on the increase, especially in the Bengal Presidency
and in the districts bordering on the Ganges, the Government has
A PROOF OF WIFELY DEVOTION 357
It was principally in the noble caste of Rajahs that the
suttee originated. It was looked upon as a highly honour-
able proof of wifely attachment and love, which enhanced
the glory of the families of these wretched victims of blind
zeal. Should a widow, by reason of a natural fondness
for life or through lack of courage, endeavour to avoid
the honour of being burnt alive on the funeral pyre of her
deceased husband, she was considered to be offering a gross
insult to his memory.
I was once able to thoroughly convince myself of the
influence which this false point of honour still exercises
over the minds of fanatical Hindus, and at the same time
to discern that this act of devotion to which these wretched
thought fit to interfere to check this inconceivable mania by adopting
at least persuasive measures. It has, therefore, directed the different
magistrates scattered about the country to examine very minutely all
the circumstances attending the custom of suttee (this is the name by
which these barbarous sacrifices are known), and never to sanction it
except after exhausting all the means to oppose it which prudence may
suggest to them. No woman can, therefore, now devote herself to
a death of this kind without the sanction of the magistracy. When
such permission is sought, the magistrates cause the victim to appear
before them and question her carefully to assure themselves that her
resolution is entirely voluntary, and that no outside influence has been
brought to bear upon her. They then try by every possible exhorta-
tion and counsel to induce her to give up her horrible design. But
should the widow remain firm in her resolution, they leave her mistress
of her own fate. The Protestant missionaries, when they first arrived
in the country, expressed a just horror of these abominable sacrifices,
and strove to diminish their number ; but being ill acquainted with the
character of the Hindus and with their devoted attachment to custom,
they used brusque and violent measures which only resulted in augment-
ing the evil. I have seen the lists of widows who had sacrificed them-
selves on the funeral pyre of their husbands from 1810 (the period at
which the missionaries commenced their labours) up to the year 1820 ;
and I have remarked that the number of these victims progressively
increased every year during that space of time. In 1817 there were
706 suttees in the Bengal Presidency. It is true that this insane practice
is much more in vogue on the banks of the Ganges than anywhere else.
In the southern parts of the Peninsula of India suttees are seldom seen.
I am convinced that in the Madras Presidency, which numbers at least
thirty millions of inhabitants, not thirty widows allow themselves to be
thus burnt during a year. — Dubois.
Suttee is now, of course, absolutely abolished. Its prohibition by
law was effected during the Governor-Generalship of Lord William
Bentinck (1825-1835), at the instance of the great Rajah Ram Mohun
Roy.— Ed.
358 HONOUR PAID TO THE VICTIMS
victims sacrificed themselves is not always the result of
their own free will and resolution. The poligar or prince
of Cangoondy in the Carnatic having died, neither entreaties
nor threats were spared to induce his widow to allow her-
self to be burnt alive with him. It was urged that this
honourable custom had been observed for a long time past
in the family, and that it would be a great pity, indeed, to
allow it to fall into disuse. The funeral ceremonies were
delayed from day to day in the hope that the widow would
at last make up her mind to prefer a glorious death to
a remnant of life spent in contempt and opprobrium. It
was a fruitless attempt ! The obstinate princess turned
a deaf ear to all the pressing entreaties of her relatives ;
and ultimately the deceased was obliged to depart alone
to the other world.
It must, however, be confessed that some widows commit
this folly readily enough, spurred on as they are by the
thought of the wretchedness of widowhood, by vanity, by
the hope of acquiring notoriety, perhaps also by a genuine
feeling of enthusiasm. It should be remembered that they
are awarded boundless honours, and are even deified after
death. Vows are made and prayers addressed to them,
and their intercession is sought in times of sickness and
adversity. Such remnants of their bodies as have not been
entirely consumed by the fire are most devoutly gathered
together, and on the spot where they have sacrificed them-
selves small monumental pyramids are erected to transmit
to posterity the memory of these brave victims of conjugal
affection — a tribute all the more conspicuous, because the
erection of tombs is almost unknown among the Hindus \
In a word, women who have had the courage to deliver
themselves so heroically to the flames are numbered among
the divinities, and crowds of devotees may be seen coming
in from all sides to offer them sacrifices and to invoke
their protection.
To these inducements of vain and empty glory — sufficient
of themselves to make a deep impression on a feeble mind
— must be added the entreaties of relatives, who, if they
1 In some old Hindu houses, even to this day, may be seen, impressed
with turmeric paste on the walls, the marks of the hands of women who
underwent suttee. — Ed.
FORCING A RELUCTANT CONSENT 359
perceive the slightest inclination on the part of the widow
to offer up her life, spare no means in order to convince
her and force her to a final determination. At times they
go so far as to administer drugs, which so far deprive her
of her senses that under their influence she yields to their
wishes. This inhuman and abominable method of wheed-
ling a consent out of the unhappy woman is in their opinion
justified, because her tragic end would bring great honour
and glory to the whole of their family.
Some authors have maintained that this detestable
practice originated primarily either from the jealousy of
husbands, or rather, perhaps, from their fear that their
discontented wives might seek to get rid of them by poison.
As for myself, I have been unable, either in the writings of
Hindu authors, or in my free and familiar intercourse with
many persons well versed in the manners and customs of
the country, to discover any justification for either of these
two theories. And surely the lot of a wife, even when she
is doomed to suffer wrong at the hands of a cruel and
immoral husband, is far preferable to that of a widow, to
whom all hope of a re-marriage under happier conditions
is forbidden. It is hardly likely, indeed, that Hindu
women would go to the length of committing a crime
which must render their lot much worse than before ! At
the same time I am by no means inclined to attribute
these voluntary sacrifices to an excess of conjugal affection.
We should, for instance, be greatly mistaken were we to
allow ourselves to be deceived by the noisy lamentations
which wives are accustomed to raise on the death of their
husbands, and which are no more than rank hypocrisy.
During the long period of my stay in India, I do not recall
two Hindu marriages characterized by a union of hearts
and displaying true and mutual attachment l .
When a woman, after mature deliberation, has once
declared that she desires to be burnt alive with her deceased
1 It is impossible to regard the conclusion here drawn as anything but
greatly exaggerated. The influence of women, ignorant and uneducated
as they are, is in many Hindu households exceedingly strong, and it is
an error to picture them as the mere slaves of the men, though the
ascendency of the latter is still a marked feature of Hindu sociology.
—Ed.
360 A DISPUTE FOR PRECEDENCE
husband, her decision is considered irrevocable. She cannot
afterwards retract ; and should she refuse to proceed of
her own free will to the funeral pyre, she would be dragged
to it by force. The Brahmins who regulate all the pro-
ceedings of the tragedy, and also her relatives, come by
turns to congratulate her on her heroic decision and on the
immortal glory which she is about to acquire by such a
death — a death which will exalt her to the dignity of the
gods. All possible means which fanaticism and supersti-
tion can suggest are brought to bear upon her in order to
keep up her courage, to exalt her enthusiasm, and to excite
her imagination. When, at last, the fatal hour draws nigh,
the victim is adorned with rare elegance : she is clothed in
her richest apparel, is bedecked with all her jewels, and is
thus led to the funeral pyre.
It is impossible for me to describe the finishing scenes of
this dreadful ceremony without feelings of distress. But,
in the meantime, I must solicit the indulgence of my readers
for a short digression which is not wholly disconnected with
my subject. When a husband has several lawful wives, as
often happens in the caste of the Rajahs, the wives some-
times dispute as to who shall have the honour of accom-
panying their common husband to the funeral pyre, and
the Brahmins who preside at the ceremony determine
which shall have the preference. Here is an instance to
the point extracted from the Mahabharata, one of their
most esteemed books : —
1 King Pandu had retired into the jungles with his two
wives, there to devote himself to acts of penance. At the
same time a curse was imposed upon him, which doomed
him to instant death should he dare to have intercourse
with either of them. The passion which he felt for the
younger of his wives, who was extremely beautiful, over-
came all fear of death ; and, in spite of the fact that for
several days she continued to represent to him the dire
results that must necessarily follow his incontinency, he
yielded at last to the violence of his love ; and immediately
the curse fell upon him. After his death, it was necessary
to decide which of his two wives should follow him to the
funeral pyre, and there arose a sharp altercation between
them as to who should enjoy this honour.
WIDOWS WITH CHILDREN EXEMPTED 361
' The elder of the two spoke first, and addressing the
assembly of Brahmins who had gathered together for the
purpose, she urged that the fact of her being the first wife
placed her above the second. She should, therefore, be
given the preference. Besides, she urged, her companion
had children who were still young, and who required
their mother's personal care and attention for their bring-
ing up \
1 The second wife admitted the seniority of the first ;
but she maintained that she alone, having been the im-
mediate cause of the sad death of their common husband
in allowing him to defy the curse which doomed him to
perish, was thereby entitled to the honour of being burnt
with him. " As regards the bringing up of my children,"
she added, addressing the other wife, " are they not yours
just as much as they are mine ? Do not they too call
you mother ? And by your age and experience are you
not better fitted than I to attend to their bringing up ? " '
In spite of the eloquence of the younger wife, it was, at
last, unanimously agreed by the judges that the first wife
should have the preference — a decision at which the latter
lady was greatly delighted.
Most Sudras, as well as Hindus of the Siva sect, bury
their dead instead of burning them, and there are several
instances of wives having been buried alive with their
deceased husbands. But the ceremonies in either case are
nearly the same.
I will relate here two incidents which took place at no
great distance from the place where I was living, and which
will give a good idea of what these deplorable scenes of
mad fanaticism are like : —
In 1794, in a village of the Tanjore district called Pudu-
pettah, there died a man of some importance belonging
to the Komathj (Vaisya) caste. His wife, aged about thirty
years, announced her intention of accompanying her
1 The custom of suttee does not require widows who have young
children to burn themselves with the body of their husbands ; they
are even forbidden to do so. Does this exception proceed from a feeling
of humanity ? By no manner of means ! It is actuated merely by
the fear that a large number of orphans would become a burden to the
community. — Dubois.
N 3
362 DESCRIPTION OF A SUTTEE
deceased husband to the funeral pyre. The news having
rapidly spread abroad, a large concourse of people flocked
together from all quarters to witness the spectacle. When
everything was ready for the ceremony, and the widow
had been richly clothed and adorned, the bearers stepped
forward to remove the body of the deceased, which was
placed in a sort of shrine, ornamented with costly stuffs,
garlands of flowers, green foliage, &c, the corpse being
seated in it with crossed legs, covered with jewels and
clothed in the richest attire, and the mouth filled with
betel. Immediately after the funeral car followed the
widow, borne in a richly decorated palanquin. On the
way to the burning-ground she was escorted by an immense
crowd of eager sight-seers, lifting their hands towards her
in token of admiration, and rending the air with cries of
joy. She was looked upon as already translated to the
paradise of Indra, and they seemed to envy her happy lot.
While the funeral procession moved slowly along, the
spectators, especially the women, tried to draw near to
her to congratulate her on her good fortune, at the same
time expecting that, in virtue of the gift of prescience
which such a meritorious attachment must confer upon
her, she would be pleased to predict the happy things
that might befall them here below. With gracious and
amiable mien she declared to one that she would long
enjoy the favours of fortune ; to another, that she would
be the mother of numerous children who would prosper
in the world ; to a third, that she would live long and
happily with a husband who would love and cherish her ;
to a fourth, that her family was destined to attain much
honour and dignity ; and so forth. She then distributed
among them leaves of betel ; and the extraordinary eager-
ness with which these were received clearly proved that
great value was attached to them as relics. Beaming with
joy, these women then withdrew, each in the full hope that
the promised blessings of wealth and happiness would be
showered on her and hers.
During the whole procession, which was a very long one,
the widow preserved a calm demeanour. Her looks were
serene, even smiling ! ; but when she reached the fatal place
1 Several travellers have said, and I am inclined to believe it, that
A PAINFUL SPECTACLE 363
where she was to yield up her life in so ghastly a manner,
it was observed that her firmness suddenly gave way.
Plunged, as it were, in gloomy thought, she seemed to pay
no attention whatever to what was passing around her.
Her looks became wildly fixed upon the pile. Her face
grew deadly pale. Her very limbs were in a convulsive
tremor. Her drawn features and haggard face betrayed
the fright that had seized her, while a sudden weakening
of her senses betokened that she was ready to faint away.
The Brahmins who conducted the ceremony, and also her
near relatives, ran quickly to her, endeavouring to keep up
her courage and to revive her drooping spirits. All was of
no effect. The unfortunate woman, bewildered and dis-
tracted, turned a deaf ear to all their exhortations and
preserved a deep silence.
She was then made to leave the palanquin, and as she was
scarcely able to walk, her people helped her to drag herself
to a pond near the pyre. She plunged into the water with
all her clothes and ornaments on, and was immediately
afterwards led to the pyre, on which the body of her hus-
band was already laid. The pyre was surrounded by
Brahmins, each with a lighted torch in one hand and a bowl
of ghee in the other. Her relatives and friends, several of
whom were armed with muskets, swords, and other weapons,
stood closely round in a double line, and seemed to await
impatiently the end of this shocking tragedy. This armed
force, they told me, was intended not only to intimidate
the unhappy victim in case the terror of her approaching
death might induce her to run away, but also to overawe
any persons who might be moved by a natural feeling of
compassion and sympathy, and so tempted to prevent the
accomplishment of the homicidal sacrifice.
At length, the purohita Brahmin gave the fatal signal.
The poor widow was instantly divested of all her jewels,
and dragged, more dead than alive, to the pyre. There she
they force upon these wretched victims of superstition a kind of drink,
which confuses the mind and prevents them from forming a correct
notion of the dreadful torture to which they are being led. This bever-
age, they say, consists of a decoction of saffron. It is known that dried
saffron pistils (Crocus sativus), taken in large quantities, cause violent
and convulsive laughter, sometimes terminating in death. — Dubois.
364 THE SUTTEE OF TWO QUEENS
was obliged, according to custom, to walk three times
round the pile, two of her nearest relatives supporting
her by the arms. She accomplished the first round with
tottering steps ; during the second her strength wholly
forsook her, and she fainted away in the arms of her con-
ductors, who were obliged to complete the ceremony by
dragging her through the third round. Then, at last,
senseless and unconscious, she was cast upon the corpse
of her husband. At that moment the air resounded with
noisy acclamations. The Brahmins, emptying the contents
of their vessels on the dry wood, applied their torches,
and in the twinkling of an eye the whole pile was ablaze.
Three times was the unfortunate woman called by her
name. But, alas ! she made no answer.
The last king of Tanjore, who died in 1801, left behind
him four lawful wives. The Brahmins decided that two
of these should be burnt with the body of their husband,
and selected the couple that should have the preference.
It would have been an everlasting shame to them and the
grossest insult to the memory of the deceased had they
hesitated to accept this singular honour. Being fully con-
vinced, moreover, that no means would be spared to induce
them to sacrifice themselves either willingly or unwillingly,
they made a virtue of necessity and seemed perfectly ready
to yield to the terrible lot which awaited them.
The necessary preparations for the obsequies were com-
pleted in a single day.
Three or four leagues from the royal residence a square
pit of no great depth, and about 12 to 15 feet square, was
excavated. Within it was erected a pyramid of sandal-
wood, resting on a kind of scaffolding of the same wood.
The posts which supported it were so arranged that they
could easily be removed, and would thereby cause the whole
structure to collapse suddenly. At the four corners of the
pit were placed huge brass jars filled with ghee, to be thrown
on the wood in order to hasten combustion.
The following was the order of the procession as it
wended its way to the pyre. It was headed by a large
force of armed soldiers. Then followed a crowd of musicians,
chiefly trumpeters, who made the air ring with the dismal
sound of their instruments. Next came the king's body
THE FUNERAL PYRE 365
borne in a splendid open palanquin, accompanied by his
guru, his principal officers, and his nearest relatives, who
were all on foot and wore no turbans in token of mourning.
Among them was also a large number of Brahmins. Then
came the two victims, each borne on a richly decorated
palanquin. They were loaded, rather than decked, with
jewels. Several ranks of soldiers surrounded them to pre-
serve order and to keep back the great crowds that flocked
in from every side. The two queens were accompanied by
some of their favourite women, with whom they occasion-
ally conversed. Then followed relatives of both sexes, to
whom the victims had made valuable presents before leaving
the palace. An innumerable multitude of Brahmins and
persons of all castes followed in the rear.
On reaching the spot where their untimely fate awaited
them, the victims were required to perform the ablutions
and other ceremonies proper on such occasions ; and they
went through the whole of them without hesitation and
without the least sign of fear. When, however, it came to
walking round the pile, it was observed that their features
underwent a sudden change. Their strength seemed well-
nigh to forsake them in spite of their obvious efforts to
suppress their natural feelings. During this interval the
body of the king had been placed on the top of the pyramid
of sandalwood. The two queens, still wearing their rich
attire and ornaments, were next compelled to ascend the
pile. Lying down beside the body of the deceased prince,
one on the right and the other on the left, they joined
hands across the corpse. The officiating Brahmins then
recited in a loud tone several mantrams, sprinkled the pile
with their tirtam or holy water, and emptied the jars of
ghee over the wood, setting fire to it at the same moment.
This was done on one side by the nearest relative of the
king, on another by his guru, on others by leading Brah-
mins. The flames quickly spread, and the props being
removed, the whole structure collapsed, and in its fall must
have crushed to death the two unfortunate victims. There-
upon all the spectators shouted aloud for joy. The un-
happy women's relatives standing around the pile then
called to them several times by name, and it is said that,
issuing from amidst the flames, the word Yen f (What ?)
366 SUTTEE PRESENTS
was heard distinctly pronounced. A ridiculous illusion, no
doubt, of minds blinded by fanaticism ; for it could never
be believed that the unfortunate victims were at that
moment in a condition to hear and to speak.
Two days after, when the fire was completely extin-
guished, they removed from amidst the ashes the remnants
of the bones that had not been entirely consumed, and put
them into copper urns, which were carefully sealed with
the signet of the new king. Some time afterwards, thirty
Brahmins were selected to carry these relics to Kasi (Benares)
and to throw them into the sacred waters of the Ganges.
It was arranged that, on their return from that holy city,
they should receive valuable presents, upon producing
authenticated certificates to the effect that they had really
accomplished the journey, and had faithfully executed
the task entrusted to them. A portion of the bones was,
however, reserved for the following purpose : — they were
reduced to powder, mixed with some boiled rice, and eaten
by twelve Brahmins. This revolting and unnatural act
had for its object the expiation of the sins of the deceased
— sins which, according to the popular opinion, were trans-
mitted to the bodies of the persons who ate the ashes, and
were tempted by money to overcome their repugnance for
such disgusting food. At the same time, it is believed that
the filthy lucre thus earned can never be attended with
much advantage to the recipients. Amidst the ashes, too,
were picked up small pieces of melted gold, the remains of
the ornaments worn by the princesses.
Presents were given to the Brahmins who presided. at
the obsequies, and to those who had honoured the cere-
monies with their presence. To the king's guru was given
an elephant. The three palanquins which had served to
carry the corpse of the king and the two victims to the pile
were given away to the three leading Brahmins. The
presents distributed among the other Brahmins consisted
of cloths and of money amounting to nearly twenty- five
thousand rupees. Several bags of small coin were also
scattered among the crowds on the roadside as the funeral
procession was on its way to the pyre. Finally, twelve
houses were built and presented to the twelve Brahmins
who had the courage to swallow the powdered bones of
ERECTING A SHRINE 367
the deceased, and by that means to take upon themselves
all their sins.
A few days after the funeral the new king made a pil-
grimage to a temple a few leagues distant from his capital.
He there took a bath in a sacred tank, and was thus purified
of all the uncleanness that he had contracted during the
various ceremonies of mourning. On this occasion also
presents were given to the Brahmins and to the poor of
other castes.
On the spot where the deceased king and his two unhappy
companions had been consumed a circular mausoleum was
erected, about 12 feet in diameter, surmounted by a dome.
The reigning prince visits it from time to time, prostrates
himself humbly before the tombs, and offers sacrifices to
the manes of his predecessor and to those of his worthy
and saintly spouses.
Crowds of devotees also repair thither to offer up vows
and sacrifices to the new divinities, and to implore their
help and protection in the various troubles of life.
In the year 1802 I heard accounts of a great number of
so-called miracles performed through their intercession.
It is only after long and serious reflection on the many
eccentricities and inconsistencies of the human mind that
one can look without astonishment upon the deplorable
scenes of which a few of the main features have just been
described. It is indeed unaccountable how these Brah-
mins, who are so scrupulous and attach so much importance
to the life of the most insignificant insect, and whose
feelings are excited to pity and indignation at the very
sight of a cow being slaughtered, can, with such savage
cold-bloodedness and wicked satisfaction, look upon so
many weak and innocent human beings, incited by hypo-
critical and barbarous inducements, being led with affected
resignation to a punishment so cruel and undeserved. I
leave to others the task of explaining these inconceivable
contradictions, if, that is to say, it is possible to assign any
reasons for such superstitious fanaticism, whose charac-
teristic feature is to suppress all natural and rational
sentiment.
308
CHAPTER XX
Adoption. — Rules regarding the Partition of Property.
When a Brahmin finds that he has no male issue, whether
by reason of the barrenness of his wife or through the
untimely death of all the sons he has had by her, he is
permitted, nay bound, by the rules of his caste to procure
a son by means of adoption, in order that he may, at least
fictitiously, fulfil the great debt to his ancestors, namely, the
propagation of a direct line of posterity. Although marriage
constitutes the perfect state of man, this perfection is
nevertheless deficient when a man does not leave a son
behind him to perform his obsequies ; and this defect alone,
according to Hindu writers, is quite sufficient to deprive
him of happiness in the next world.
This notion prevails so strongly among the Hindus that
I have known barren women not only consenting to their
husbands taking other wives, but even earnestly advising
them to do so, and helping them in their quest. There is
not one of them, however, who is not fully alive to the
annoyances and discomforts to which she is exposing her-
self by thus introducing as her rival another woman, who
must naturally, by her youthfulness and fecundity, soon
become an object more beloved than herself by their common
husband.
It has already been said that polygamy is tolerated
among the ruling classes only; and when we find other
women besides the lawful wife living in the families of
private individuals of high caste, especially among the
Brahmins, either they are living there, as already stated,
with the consent of the lawful wife, or else they are merely
hired concubines. However, a husband who has had no
male issue by his wife, being fully alive to the unpleasant
consequences arising from a second marriage, almost in-
variably prefers to have recourse to the system of adoption.
A Brahmin generally chooses from among his own relatives
the child that he wishes to legally adopt as his son ; and if
perchance he finds nobody in his own family worthy of
the honour, he applies to some poor fellow of his own caste
ADOPTING A SOX 369
who is burdened with many children. So long as the
adoptive father is rich, lie is sure not to meet with a re-
fusal l .
The adopted son renounces wholly and for ever all his
claims to the property and succession of his natural father,
and acquires the sole right to the heritage of his father by
adoption. The latter is bound to bring him up, to feed
him, and to treat him as his own son ; to have the cere-
mony of upanayana, or the triple cord, performed for him,
and to see him married. The adopted son, in his turn, is
obliged to take care of his adoptive father in his old age
and in sickness, just as if he were his natural father, and
to preside at his obsequies. On the death of his adoptive
father he enters into full possession of his inheritance —
assets as well as liabilities. Should there be any property
left, he enjoys it ; but if, on the other hand, there are
debts, he is bound to pay them. He is, moreover, by his
adoption admitted into the gothram or family stock of the
adopter, and is considered to have left that in which he
was born 2 .
It is only natural that, in a country where everything is
performed with so much solemnity, an event of such
importance should be attended with great ceremonies. The
following are a few of the most important : —
The first thing to be done, as might be expected, is to
select an auspicious day. They then adorn the portals of
the house with toranams (garlands of leaves) and put up
a temporary pandal. The festivities open with a sacrifice
to Vigneshwara and the nine planets ; and the other pre-
paratory ceremonies already described are likewise gone
through. The adoptive father and mother take their seats
on the small dais raised in the middle of the pandal. The
mother of the child is presented with a new garment and
with a hundred or a hundred and fifty pieces of silver as
her nursing wages. Then, with her son in her arms, she
approaches the adoptive father, who asks her in a loud
1 The strict rule is that the natural mother of the adopted son must be
a marriageable relative of the adoptive father. Nowadays, however,
a Hindu is allowed to adopt anv bov provided he be of the same caste.
—Ed.
2 Gothram literallv means ' cowshed.' — Ed.
370 THE ADOPTION CEREMONY
and distinct voice, in presence of the whole assembly,
whether she delivers over her child to be brought up. To
this she answers in the same tone that she does deliver the
child to be brought up. This utterance bears a compre-
hensive meaning. It is a formal intimation that she gives
up her son not as a slave who is sold, but to be looked upon
and treated as a child of the family into which he is about
to enter l .
They next bring in a dish filled with water into which
some powdered saffron has been thrown. The purohita
blesses this mixture by muttering mantrams and performing
certain ceremonies. Then the mother of the child 2 hands
the dish to the adoptive father, and at the same time,
invoking fire to bear witness to the deed, she thrice repeats
the following words : — ' / give up this child to you ; I have
no more right over him.'' The adoptive father then takes
the child, and seating him on his knees, addresses the
relatives present as follows : — ' This child has been given
to me, after fire has been invoked as a witness of the gift :
and I, by this saffron water which I will now drink, promise
to bring him up as my own son. From this moment he is
entitled to the enjoyment of all his rights over my property,
sharing, at the same time, the burden of my debts.'
After these words, he and his wife pour out a small
quantity of the saffron water in the hollow of their right
hands and drink it up. They then pour a little into the
hand of the adopted child and make him also drink it,
adding : ' We have admitted this child into our gothram,
and we incorporate him into it.'
This is the last event in the ceremony of adoption. I
have remarked that at the age of six months Hindu children
are solemnly invested with the girdle or waist-string, to
1 Generally a boy is adopted when he is fit for the wpanayana ceremony ;
and both ceremonies are performed simultaneously. — Ed.
2 It is the mother of the child who plays the most important part in
this ceremony ; the father being present there only as a mere formality.
The reason is that in India all the children are supposed to belong by
right to the mother. Should a married man, or a man living in con-
cubinage, happen to separate himself, for some cause or other, from his
wife or concubine, the latter would be entitled to take away all their
children, without the possibility of the slightest opposition on the part
of the father. — Dubois.
USING SAFFRON-WATER 371
which, six or seven years later, is attached a small piece
of cloth intended to cover the private parts. Should the
adopted child be already wearing this string, they break it
and supply him with a fresh one ; but should he have
none, they at once begin to invest him with it with all
the usual ceremonies. It is by this act that his incorpora-
tion into the gothram or family clan of his new father is
sanctified.
The festivities, as usual, wind up with a repast and the
distribution of betel and presents to the guests.
The use of saffron water on this occasion accounts for
the fact that an adopted child generally receives the appel-
lation of the ' saffron-water child ' of such a one \ a term
which, it should be added, has nothing offensive about it.
The ceremony of adoption is almost identical among the
Sudras and the Brahmins, with this one difference, that
among the Sudras the adoptive father and his wife pour
the saffron water on to the feet of the adopted child with
one hand, and catch and drink it with the other.
An adoptive father may choose not only a child of tender
years, but even an adult, should that suit his taste and
purpose better.
Persons whose means do not permit them to perform the
ceremony of adoption with so much pomp and circum-
stance, have a simpler and more expeditious mode of per-
forming it. It is deemed sufficient if the mother of the
child and the adopted father invoke fire to witness their
mutual bargain. Dwellers on the banks of the Ganges need
simply call to witness, in such a case, the waters of that
sacred river.
In whatever fashion the ceremony of adoption be per-
formed, the adopted child no longer retains any right either
to the property or the heritage of his natural father, nor
can he be held answerable for the debts which the latter
may leave at his death.
The adoption of girls is rare, although instances of it are
not wanting.
1 The Hindus take a pleasure in giving each other nicknames, some
of which are very insulting indeed. They generally choose such names
with reference to some mental or bodily defect of the person concerned,
or on account of some dishonourable act imputed to him. — Dubois.
372 THE DIVISION OF PROPERTY
The work from which I have extracted these particulars
relating to adoption also furnishes a solution of some of
the difficulties that arise in certain cases with regard to
the division of property. The little that it contains on
the subject seems to me sufficiently interesting.
We find there laid down the supposititious case of a man
who, after adopting a son, has subsequently had, contrary
to his expectation, six children by his legitimate wife,
namely, four boys and two girls. The father and two of
the boys die ; one of the girls and the adopted son are
married ; there remain two boys and a girl who are un-
married ; and provision must also be made for the sub-
sistence of the widow. The question is, How, in such
a case, ought the property devolved by succession to be
divided ?
The answer given is to the following effect : — First, the
amount necessary for the funeral expenses of the deceased
father ought to be set apart, and the money required for
the marriage of the three unmarried children ought to be
placed in the hands of a trustworthy executor.
Secondly, the property that remains after these amounts
have been set aside shall be divided into six shares. The
adopted son shall take for himself a share and a half, and
the remainder shall be equally divided among the brothers
and the mother. Should the mother be dead, the property
is divided only into five shares and a half, unless all the
brothers, with common accord, relinquish on behalf of their
unmarried sister, with the object of providing her with
jewels, that part of the inheritance which would have fallen
to the mother, who is perfectly at liberty, before her death,
to dispose of this share in favour of her daughters, without
the slightest objection being raised thereto by the sons.
If she has not done so, the brothers alone, independently
of the sisters, set apart a reasonable amount for a decent
funeral, and divide equally among themselves whatever
remains of her property.
This decision of the Brahmins, while in accordance with
the general custom of the country, which entitles sons to
equal shares of the paternal property, and excludes the
daughters by merely granting them a dowry, departs from
it in so far as mothers have no share whatever in the pro-
OBLIGATION FOR MAINTENANCE 373
perty of their husbands, their sons being conjointly bound
to provide for their maintenance during their lives.
Should a man, by reason of the barrenness of his first
wife, marry a second, and the latter have a son, all the
father's property belongs exclusively to this son ; the first
wife, after the death of the common husband, can claim
nothing from the estate : but the son is bound to provide
for her maintenance in a decent manner, and to meet all
the expenses of her funeral. If the first wife does not
choose to continue to live with the second, the relatives
meet together and arrange for the allotment to her of
a sufficient income according to her condition in life.
A certain man, rinding that his first wife was barren,
married a second, then a third ; but it so happened that
these two, like the first, were barren also, and the man,
therefore, died without issue. The deceased had an elder
and a younger brother, besides several cousins, sons of his
paternal uncles. None of these, however, had been living
with him. They had long before divided their family
property, and each was living separately. The question
arises, Who ought to be regarded as the rightful heir of
the deceased ? The answer given is, that the rightful heir
is the younger brother, because, being the youngest of the
family, to him, according to the custom of the country,
belongs the right of presiding at the obsequies — a right
which carries with it the heirship. He thereby becomes
the head of the family and the master of the house. It is
he, therefore, who is obliged to provide for the maintenance
of the three widows left by his brother. Should any one
of the three choose to return to her father's house, she
would be at perfect liberty to do so, and even to take away
with her all the jewels given to her by her deceased hus-
band. Furthermore, the family council would determine
upon the allowance which her brother-in-law, as the heir
to her husband's property, would be bound to make to
her to enable her to subsist. If she elected to remain in
her deceased husband's house and to have an establishment
of her own there, she could not be refused permission ; but
in that case her brother-in-law would not be under the
necessity of assigning her any considerable income ; and
she would be obliged, at her own risk, to supplement such
374 FAMILY COUNCILS
income with alms. It is well known, however, that such
a mode of living has nothing disgraceful about it, since
begging is one of the six privileges of the Brahmins. Finally,
the brother-in-law is bound to bear all the expenses of the
funerals of the three widows should they happen to die
before him.
If the deceased husband be the youngest of the brothers,
the elder brother would then become the sole inheritor,
and on him would devolve all the rights and obligations
connected with the heritage. In the absence of brothers,
the nearest relative on the father's side becomes sole
heir.
In cases where doubts arise as to the transmission of
the property, the relatives are called in to decide the
matter according to the prevailing custom of the country,
or as justice may dictate to them. But very often the
partiality prevailing in these family councils turns the
scale in favour of the one who is able to purchase the sup-
port of the others. The collusions, intrigues, and acts of
injustice practised on such occasions are without number,
and tend to throw discredit on an institution which owes
its origin to truly patriarchal principles.
It may be observed from what has been already said
that the right of inheritance and the duty of presiding at
the obsequies are inseparable one from the other. When,
therefore, a wealthy man dies without direct descendants,
a crowd of remote relatives appear to dispute with each
other the honour of conducting the funeral rites. The
contest is occasionally so tumultuous and prolonged that
the body of the deceased is in a state of complete putre-
faction before a definite settlement of these many preten-
sions is arrived at. On the other hand, on the death of
a needy man burdened with debts, the survivors take every
possible care to disprove near relationship.
There is another rule regarding succession among the
Hindus, which will, doubtless, appear to us highly incom-
patible with the true principles of justice.
A father dies, leaving several male children, who, from
carelessness or some other cause, do not trouble themselves
about the legal partition of the paternal inheritance. One
of them, by his industry and diligence, acquires wealth,
UNDIVIDED FAMILY PROPERTY 375
while the others, leading a debauched and idle life, become
seriously involved in debt. These, after a life of dissipa-
tion and wandering from place to place, learn at last that
their brother, by his industry and good conduct, has
amassed a brilliant fortune. They at once hasten to him
and call upon him to share with them the property he has
acquired by the sweat of his brow, and moreover render
him jointly responsible for the debts resulting from their
disorderly habits \ The creditors themselves, too, have
the right to recover from him by law what is due to them
from his brothers. More than this, should brothers, who
neglect to divide their family property, die before such
partition has been actually effected, the same community
of property and of debts holds good among their children,
and it descends from generation to generation so long as
the property remains undivided. It is by no means rare
to see cousins of the third and fourth degree engaged in
lawsuits concerning rights of succession dating back from
time immemorial. Neither is it an uncommon thing to
see the richer members of a family coerced by the poorer
ones to admit the latter to a share of their hard-earned
fortune, while these burden them with their poverty and
their debts.
In a country where nearly everything is regulated by
custom, and where the usages are as many and as various
as the different provinces, these lawsuits in connexion with
the partition of properties are an endless source of chicanery.
There is one advantage, however, from a social point of
view, arising from this singular system, namely, that it
gives such relatives as are liable to be affected by the law
of partition the right to watch over each other's conduct,
1 In Madras a proposal was recently made by a Hindu member of the
local Legislature to introduce a Bill to secure for every individual of
an ' undivided ' Hindu family ' the gains of his learning.' The Bill
was passed by the Legislative Council, but in deference to very strong
feeling subsequently expressed by the Hindu community at large the
Governor of Madras (Sir Arthur Havelock) vetoed the measure. At
present, when a claim is made to ' the gains of learning ' of one of the
members of an ' undivided ' family, those who prefer the claim invari-
ably attempt to prove that the member to whose gains they lay claim
was educated out of the undivided family property, and that therefore
the undivided members have a right to share his gains. — Ed.
376 SINGLE MALE HEIRS UNKNOWN
and to restrain the debauchery and extravagance of those
whose misconduct might involve them all in distress.
The appointment of a single heir among the male children
of a family is a thing unknown in India. The brothers
divide the paternal property equally, to the exclusion of
the sisters, who have no share whatever in it. The father
does not even possess the privilege of treating one of his
sons more generously than the rest \ The Hindus cannot
conceive how a father could despoil several of his children
in order to enrich one of them in particular ; and they are
simply astounded when they are told that this custom
prevails in many countries of Europe. But what makes
us still more ridiculous in their eyes is that this favoured
heir should very often be, not the son who distinguishes
himself above the rest by his filial devotion, his virtues,
and his talents, but one who by chance happens to be the
first-born, and who may perhaps be the most foolish and
vicious of the whole family.
CHAPTER XXI
The Learning of the Brahmins. — Their Colleges. — Astronomy. — Astro-
logy-— Magic.
It is certain that from the earliest times learning was
cultivated by the Hindus. The Brahmins have always
been, as it were, its depositaries, and have always con-
sidered it as belonging exclusively to themselves. They
saw well enough what a moral ascendency knowledge
would give them over the other castes, and they therefore
made a mystery of it by taking all possible precautions to
prevent other classes from obtaining access to it.
The question arises, Have they themselves systematically
cultivated learning ? Have they made any appreciable
progress in its pursuit ? This we must answer in the
negative, if at least we are to compare what has come
down to us from their ancient authors with the present
conditions of instruction and learning amongst them. I do
1 There is nothing, however, to prevent a father from allotting the
whole or any portion of his self-acquired, as opposed to his ancestral
property, to any one of his sons, or disposing of it in any other way he
pleases. — Ed.
STATIONARY CHARACTER OF LEARNING 377
nut believe that the Brahmins of modern times are, in any
degree, more learned than their ancestors of the times of
Lycurgus and Pythagoras. During this long space of time
many barbarous races have emerged from the darkness of
ignorance, have attained the summit of civilization, and
have extended their intellectual researches almost to the
utmost limits of human intelligence ; yet all this time the
Hindus have been perfectly stationary. We do not find
amongst them any trace of mental or moral improvement,
any sign of advance in the arts and sciences. Every
impartial observer must, indeed, admit that they are now
very far behind the peoples who inscribed their names long
after them on the roll of civilized nations.
The learning which won for them so much respect and
reverence from their fellow-countrymen, and which ren-
dered them so famous in the eyes of foreign nations, among
whom ignorance and superstition then prevailed, was
connected with astronomy, astrology, and magic. Several
authors have given details of their astronomical system,
and it is fully explained in the Asiatic Researches. More-
over, Father Pons, a former Jesuit missionary in the
Carnatic, had, long before this, discussed it in a highly
interesting treatise published in the Memoires de V Academic
des Sciences, and likewise we find it discussed in the Histoire
Generate de Tons les Peuples by the Abbe Lambert. It is
from these sources that the famous astronomer Bailly
derived almost all that he has written on Hindu Astro-
nomy.
The accuracy of the investigations of the learned Jesuit
missionary in this direction has been since confirmed ; but
in the same work he speaks of the schools and of what he
calls the ' academies ' of India. It seems to me that he is
rather too favourably impressed with these latter institu-
tions, and is far too profuse in his eulogies on the methods
of teaching and the course of studies in vogue in the so-
called academies.
As a matter of fact, no comparison whatever can be
drawn between schools in India and those in Europe. The
system pursued in the former of causing everything to be
learnt by rote is, in my opinion, essentially wrong, and
tends to prolong indefinitely the course of study. More-
378 INSUFFICIENT EDUCATIONAL STIMULUS
over, there is no regular plan of instruction, and there is
no public institution which is, properly speaking, devoted
to the diffusion of knowledge. It is true that in certain
large towns, or in the precincts of some of the more important
temples, Brahmins who are really learned, or who pretend
to be so, impart the knowledge which they possess — some
gratuitously and others for payment ; still, for all this,
instruction is carried on without any definite system or
any attempt at discipline — elements absolutely necessary
to give to these studies a character of permanence and
uniformity. Let a youth learn who has a mind to do so,
and as long as he chooses : this seems to be their guiding
principle. There is nothing in these institutions which is
calculated to stimulate the teachers or to encourage the
pupils. There are no public examinations to undergo, no
degrees to aspire to, no prizes to be won ; in fine, no
special privilege or advantage of any importance is held
out to students who distinguish themselves by their attain-
ments. It is true that those who have a reputation for
learning are esteemed by the public, but empty reputation
without any substantial benefit is not a motive sufficiently
powerful to stimulate a Brahmin. It would be well enough
if learned Hindus were frequently encouraged by the
liberality of their princes, but the latter are too deeply
immersed in the enjoyment of material pleasures to be able
to appreciate the real value of learning and to take the
trouble to patronize it \ Accordingly one seldom comes
across educated Brahmins who owe their knowledge to
one of these public schools. They are, in fact, entirely
beholden for it to the exertions of their parents and to
private tuition. Thus it is that learning is almost always
transmitted from family to family, from generation to
generation, and becomes, so to say, hereditary.
So much, then, for the course of study, the universities,
and the litterateurs of India.
The Hindu system of astronomy being, as I have said
1 Education on European lines is now widely extended, of course, but
the diffusion of Hindu knowledge and the study of Sanskrit, its principal
medium, is still pretty much as the Abbe describes it. It is only just to
observe, however, that it has been, and is, more largely patronized by
Hindu princes than the Abbe implies. — Ed.
ASTROLOGY AND ITS INFLUENCE 379
before, sufficiently well known, I shall refrain from repeat-
ing here what others have said on the subject. But I shall
dwell at some length on the other two branches of their
scientific knowledge, namely, astrology and magic.
Astrology.
Astrology, together with the silly notions which originate
from it, has at all times exercised a great influence over the
nations of the world, civilized as well as uncivilized. In
Europe the appearance of a comet or a total eclipse formerly
spread the greatest terror in the minds of the multitude,
who looked upon these celestial phenomena as the fore-
runners of some public calamity ; and even at the present
day these chimerical fears still exercise some influence over
the imagination of the ignorant and superstitious.
The influence of the stars, scrutinized with the eyes of
reason, need not be looked upon altogether as an idle
imagining ; and there is doubtless a happy medium to be
observed between the widely divergent opinions of authors
concerning the action, more or less direct, more or less
limited, exercised by the stars over the vegetable and
animal kingdoms of this earth of ours. Be this as it may,
however, no other nation appears to have carried its astro-
logical notions to such extremes of folly as the Hindus.
With their wonted exaggeration in all things, it is only
natural that they should entertain wild ideas about a
science which opens so vast a sphere to the imagination.
All the rubbish they have written on this subject would
certainly be too tedious to read. I will, therefore, content
myself with referring briefly to a few of the important
principles on which their so-called science of astrology
rests.
Each planet in turn is supposed to exercise its influence
during the space of a year. The ruling planet is attended
by another, which plays the part of a minister. The latter
assumes in the following year the supreme functions of the
former ; and so on year after year.
Some of these planets are beneficent, others the reverse.
The Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus are of the former
order. Under their sway everything thrives : men live
happily and are blessed with abundance ; the fertile fields
380 ASTROLOGICAL ABSURDITIES
yield rich harvests, and the fruitful trees bear abundantly.
The Sun, Mars, and Saturn, on the other hand, have a
tendency to cause evil to animate as well as to inanimate
nature. Their reign is, therefore, almost always disas-
trous. Men are oppressed with sickness ; they attain
success in nothing ; they experience only troubles and
disappointments : moreover, the rains hold off, the soil
becomes unfruitful, famine and misery everywhere prevail.
When, however, an unpropitious planet has for its attendant
minister a planet of an opposite character, and vice versa,
the good one counteracts and counterbalances, at least to
a certain degree, the evil influence of the other. Thus one
can expect to enjoy unalloyed happiness only during those
years when two benign planets hold their sway at one
and the same time. Similarly, one must dread continual
misfortunes when both planets have an evil inclination
to harass unfortunate mankind.
There are four principal clouds which yield rain, and
each in its turn discharges this duty for the space of one
year. Their names are Samvarta, Avarta, Pushkala, Drona.
The first and the last are favourably disposed towards
mankind, and yield copious showers. Avarta and Push-
kala, on the other hand, produce nothing but storms and
hurricanes, and are sparing of the rain which refreshes
and fertilizes the soil.
The frequency of rain depends also to a great extent on
the good or bad will of seven elephants. Each of these is
known by its own name, and each in turn is charged with
the annual duty of carrying water to the clouds. Four of
them display great activity in the discharge of their duty,
and supply the clouds with an ample provision of rain.
But the other three acquit themselves very carelessly of
their duty during their terms of service ; consequently the
ground remains parched up, and scarcity prevails.
Seven snakes, each also bearing a particular name,
exercise in turn for the space of one year supreme authority
over all species of snakes.
The snake Ananta, the first one, is the most powerful of
all, and supports the earth on its head. The year of its
reign is considered unhappy, inasmuch as snakes are then
extremely venomous, and their bite invariably proves fatal.
PREDICTIONS AND DIVINATIONS 381
The reign of the snake Karkataka is equally unhappy.
The remaining five are by no means equally mischievous.
It is seldom that persons are bitten by snakes while these
are in power ; and should a person be bitten, the bite does
not prove fatal. The snake Maha-Padma particularly is
the friend of men ; it not only prevents other snakes from
harming them, but also comes to their aid by sending the
physician Dhanmantari to cure such as may have been
accidentally bitten.
By the combination of the twelve signs of the Zodiac
with the planets and with the star which is in the ascendant
on each day of the moon, Hindu astrologers believe them-
selves capable of telling the secrets as well as the future
events of life.
The Sun remains thirty days in each of the signs of the
Zodiac ; the Moon, two days and a quarter ; Mars and
Mercury, a month and a half ; Jupiter, one year ; Venus,
two years and a half ; Saturn, one year and a half.
Each sign of the Zodiac has, besides, two stars and
a quarter, which are assigned to it from among the twenty-
seven constellations or stars of the lunar month.
By comparing all these phenomena, and by joining, in
regular order, certain words with the different signs of the
Zodiac, they are enabled to know the past, the present,
and the future, and to recover things that have been lost
or stolen. The coincidence of these words is, for this
purpose, combined with the sign of the Zodiac, the planet,
the star, and the time of the day or night at which the
astrologer is consulted.
By the same means it is possible to find out, not only
the place wherein a stolen article is secreted, but also the
sex and the caste of the thief. They are also able to
ascertain whether or not the stolen or lost article will be
recovered, according as the sign, the planet, and the star
which correspond to the time at which the consultation
takes place are favourable or the reverse.
They discover in the same way whether a person who has
been long absent is dead or alive ; whether he is sick or in
good health ; whether he is at liberty or in prison ; whether
he will return or not.
But one of the most important combinations calculated
382 HOROSCOPES
is that relating to birth. In fact, according to the Hindus,
the future lot of men is supposed to depend on the sign of
the Zodiac and the star under which they are born. This
is what they call lagnam. It is supposed that each of the
twelve signs prevails over daily occurrences during a fixed
interval of time. Thus, for instance, the sign Aries (the
Ram) prevails for two hours ; Taurus (the Bull) for two
hours and a quarter ; Gemini (the Twins) for two hours
and a half ; and so on. Again, the sign which corresponds
to the moment of birth is termed Janma-lagnam ; and by
combining it with the planet and the star of the day, they
ascertain beyond a doubt whether the child is born to be
happy or unhappy.
Of the seven days of the week, three are held to be
unlucky, namely, Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday. On
these days no important business ought to be undertaken,
no journey begun.
Of the twenty -seven stars of each lunar month, seven
are reputed to be more or less unlucky ; and everything
undertaken on the days on which these appear is attended
with disastrous results.
The rest of the science is based on similar considerations.
Magic.
Magic, that art which gives shrewd people such influence
over fools, seems to have found a favourite abode in the
Peninsula of India. Certainty, in this respect, India has
no reason to be envious of the ancient Thessaly or of the
city of Colchis, famous for the enchantments of Circe and
Medea. True, I am not aware that Hindu sorcerers have
retained the power of causing the moon, whether willing
or not, to come down from the height of the firmament ;
but short of this, there is nothing which Hindu magicians
are incapable of doing. Thus there is not a single Hindu
who does not, during the whole course of his life, dream
about sorcery and witchcraft. Nothing in this country
happens by chance or from natural causes. Obstacles of
every kind, disappointments, unlucky incidents, diseases,
premature deaths, barrenness of women, miscarriages,
diseases among cattle ; in fine, all the scourges to which
human beings are exposed are attributed to the occult and
BELIEF IN THE MAGICAL ART 383
diabolical machinations of some wicked enchanter hired
by an enemy. Should a Hindu, at the time he is visited
by any calamity, happen to be at variance with any one
of his neighbours, the latter is immediately suspected and
accused of having had recourse to magic to harm him.
The accused, of course, never puts up patiently with an
imputation so invidious. Anger is engendered, and the
flame of discord grows hotter and hotter, until some serious
consequences result from this new development.
If the immense progress in enlightenment made by the
most civilized nations of Europe has not yet been able to
completely eradicate these absurd prejudices, if the rural
parts of Europe are still full of people who believe in
sorcerers and in their magical charms, and if in the public
places of our towns one still sees crowds of impostors in
wretched garb professing to furnish those around them
with the favours of fortune, is it to be wondered at that
in a country like India, plunged as it is in the darkness of
gross ignorance and superstition, the belief in magic is
carried to the very last point ? Thus it is that at every
step one meets with batches of these soothsayers and
sorcerers distributing good luck to all comers, and for
a consideration unfolding to the view of the rich and of
the poor the secrets of their destinies.
But these sorcerers of the lowest rank, whose whole
stock-in-trade consists of a large fund of impudence, are
not held in much dread. Others there are whose diabolical
art knows no bounds, and who are initiated into the most
profound secrets of magic. To inspire love or hatred ; to
introduce a devil into the body of any one, or to expel it ;
to cause the sudden death of an enemy, or to bring on him
an incurable disease ; to produce contagious diseases among
cattle, or to preserve them against such contagion ; to lay
bare the closest secrets ; to restore stolen or lost articles,
&c. : all these are mere bagatelles to such men. The very
sight of a person who is reputed to be gifted with such
enormous power inspires terror.
These professors of magic are often consulted by persons
who wish to avenge themselves on some enemy by means
of witchcraft. Their help is also sought by sick folk who
are persuaded that their disease has been caused by the
384 HINDU BOOKS ON MAGIC
casting of some magical spell upon them, and who wish fco
recover their health by throwing a counter-spell upon those
who caused the disease by such means.
The Hindus have several books which treat ex professo
of all these follies of the magic art. The principal and
most ancient of them is the fourth Veda, called the Atharva-
Veda \ The Brahmins would have it believed that this
book has been lost ; but it is known that it still exists,
and that they keep it in concealment with even greater
care than they do the other three. In fact, the magicians
being everywhere dreaded and hated, the Brahmins have
good reason to conceal everything that may lead to the
suspicion of their being initiated in the secret dealings of
these impostors. It is, however, certain that magic occupies
one of the first places in the list of sciences of which these
great men profess to be the sole inheritors 2 . There can be
no doubt that their ancestors cultivated the art from time
immemorial ; and it is not likely that the successors would
have neglected so good an example, and allowed the practice
to fall into disuse. Many Brahmins, moreover, in spite of
the restrictions imposed upon them, are known to have
made a special study of this mysterious book. Besides, do
not their religious sacrifices and their mantrams bear a
great resemblance to magical formulae and conjurings ?
Furthermore, do not the marvellous effects which they
1 Atharva-Veda is a collection of formulae to avert the consequences
of mistakes or mishaps in sacrifices. Atharvan, Brahmana's eldest son,
identified with Angirasa, is the author of this Veda, which belongs to
a later period than the other three Vedas. This Veda is a collection of
original hymns mixed up with incantations. It has no direct relation
to mere rituals or sacrifices. The recitation of this Veda is considered
to confer longevity, to cure diseases, to obtain success in love or gaming,
to effect the ruin of enemies, and to secure the reciter's own prosperity.
—Ed.
2 It should be remarked that if the Hebrews and the various other
peoples, whom Holy Writ represents as being addicted to these abomin-
able superstitions, did not actually borrow them from the Hindus, they
must both at least have copied the system from the same sources. We
are aware of the extensive reputation enjoyed by magicians and sooth-
sayers among the children of Israel, who were strictly warned by God,
through Moses, against consulting such men (Leviticus xix. 31, xx. 6).
Saul, who had vainly tried to exterminate or expel them, was weak
enough to have recourse to the enchantments of the witch of Endor. —
Dubois.
POWER ATTRIBUTED TO MAGICIANS 385
are supposed to produce, and the power ascribed to them
of counteracting the will even of the gods themselves,
place them on a par with the chimerical attributes which
the vulgar mind ascribes to enchantments 2
I happen to have come across a Hindu book treating of
the subject in hand, which perhaps few Europeans have
yet heard of. It is called the Agrushada Parikshai. The
passages which I will here extract from it will never make
anybody a sorcerer, but it strikes me that they may not
be wholly uninteresting to those who like to meditate on
the aberrations and follies of the human mind.
The author begins by investigating the extent of a
magician's power. Such power is enormous. A magician
is the dispenser of both good and evil ; but is more fre-
quently inclined by natural malevolence to do evil rather
than good. Nothing is easier for him than to afflict any-
body with sicknesses, such as fever, dropsy, epilepsy,
stricture, palsy, madness ; and, in fine, diseases of all
species. But all this is a mere trifle compared with what
his art can otherwise do ! It is capable of completely
destroying an army besieging a city, and also of causing
the sudden death of the commander of a besieged fortress
and of all its inhabitants, and so forth.
The Mahomedans in India, being quite as superstitious
as the natives of the country, are no less infatuated with
the power of magic. It is a well-known fact that the last
Mussulman prince who reigned in Mysore, the fanatical
and superstitious Tippu Sultan, during his last war, in
which he lost his kingdom and his life, engaged the services
of the most celebrated magicians of his own country and
of neighbouring provinces, in order that they might employ
all the resources of their art in destroying by some effi-
cacious operation the English army which was then advanc-
ing to besiege his capital, and which he found himself utterly
incapable of repelling by force of arms. In this difficult
and critical position the magicians very humbly acknow-
ledged their powerlessness ; and to save the reputation of
their craft they were obliged to maintain that their magical
operations, so potent when directed against every other
enemy, were utterly ineffectual against Europeans \
1 It is generally believed by the Hindus that such sorcerers and
386 INCANTATIONS AND ENCHANTMENTS
But if magic teaches the means of doing evil, it also
affords the means of counteracting its pernicious effects.
There is no magician so skilful but that others can be found
more skilful than he, to destroy the evil effects of his
enchantments, and cause them to recoil with all their
force upon himself or upon his clients. Apart from the
direct influence exercised by themselves, the magicians
also possess an ample collection of amulets and talismans,
which are looked upon as efficacious against all sorcery
and spells, and which are largely distributed, not without
payment of course, amongst those who consult them.
For instance, there are certain glass beads made magical
by mantrams, different kinds of roots, and thin plates of
copper engraved with unknown characters, strange words
and uncouth figures. These amulets are always worn by
Hindus, who, when protected by such talismans, believe
themselves quite safe from all kinds of evil.
Secret remedies for inspiring illicit passion, for rekindling
the flame of extinct love, and for reviving impaired virility,
also fall within the province of these professors of magic,
and form by no means the least lucrative part of their
trade. It is to such men that a wife always applies when
she wishes to reclaim her faithless husband or to prevent
him from becoming so. Debauched gallants and lewd
women also seek the help of love philtres to seduce or
captivate the object of their passion.
I was not a little surprised to find in the book which
I am now describing mention made of incubi. But these
demons of India are much more mischievous than those of
whom the Jesuit Delrio speaks in his Disquisitiones Magicae.
By the violence and persistence of their embraces they so
tire out the women whom they visit at night under the
form of a dog, a tiger, or some other animal, that the un-
fortunate creatures die of sheer lassitude and exhaustion.
Our author speaks at great length of the means best
suited to enchant weapons. The effects which weapons so
treated have the virtue of producing are in no way inferior
to those caused by the famous Durandal (Orlando's enchanted
sword) and by the spear of Argail, which in ancient times
magicians are powerless against Governments — an ingenuous admission
of force majeure ! — Ed.
HOW MAGIC IS ACQUIRED 387
routed so many miscreants. The Hindu gods and giants in
their wars against eacli other used no other weapons but
these. Is there anything, for instance, that can be com-
pared with the Arrow of Brahma or the Arrow of the Serpent
Capella '? The former is never shot without causing the
destruction of a whole army ; and the latter, launched in
the midst of enemies, has the effect of causing them to drop
down in a state of lethargy — an effect which, as one may
well suppose, made singularly short work of those who
were subjected to it.
There is not a secret of magic which this book does not
teach us. It puts us in possession of the means of acquir-
ing wealth and honour ; of rendering barren women fruit-
ful ; of discovering, by merely rubbing the hands and eyes
with some enchanted mixtures, treasures buried in the
ground or hidden elsewhere ; of acquiring invulnerability
and the most formidable powers in war by means of bones
carried on the person. Strange to say, the only thing
which it does not reveal is the means of rendering oneself
immortal.
It is not by entering into compact with the devil, as our
magicians were erstwhile supposed to have done, that the
magicians of India obtained the power of performing so
many prodigies. These latter, indeed, are not the kind of
people to run the risk of having their necks twisted in evil
company of this sort. It is quite sufficient for a Hindu to
become an expert in the black art if he receives a few
private lessons from the guru, or master, of the adepts.
It is this guru who guides him in the right way, who confers
his powers upon him, and to whom he owes obedience.
Should a god, a demon, or a spirit be so stubborn as to
disregard the orders of the newly initiated disciple, the
latter has simply to repeat his injunction in the name and
from the feet of his guru.
Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva themselves are subject to the
commands of the magicians. There are, however, certain
divinities who are invoked by preference. Among these the
planets occupy the first place. The term graha, by which
they are designated, signifies the act of seizing, that is, of
laying hold of those whom they are enjoined by magical
enchantments to torment. The next in order are the
m MAGIC MANTRAMS
hhoothams. or the elements, each of which contains a de-
structive principle. Then come the pretas or spirits of dead
bodies, the pisachas or pisasus — a term by which the
Native Christians designate the devil ; the female deities
called sakti ; Kali, the goddess of destruction ; and Marana
Devi, the goddess of death.
In order to call all these spirits into action, the magician
has recourse to various mysterious ceremonies, mantrams
and sacrifices. The sacrifices are the same as those already
described, with a few trifling differences. For instance, the
magician must be stark naked while he offers up these
sacrifices to Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu ; while, on the
other hand, he must be decorously clad when such sacrifices
are offered to Rama.
The flowers offered to the god invoked must be red ; and,
when the object is to produce the death of any person, the
boiled rice offered up must be stained with blood, for which
purpose a human victim, a young girl for choice, is some-
times slain 1 .
We have already spoken of the grand virtue of man-
trams ; but it is especially in connexion with magic that
they are most effective. Mantrams have such an influence
over the gods, even of the very first rank, that they are
quite unable to resist doing, either in the heavens, or in
the air, or on earth, all that the magician requires of
them.
Among the said mantrams there are some, called the
fundamentals, whose effects are decisive and irresistible.
They are composed of various strange monosyllables, harsh
of sound and difficult to pronounce ; such as h'hom, h'rhum,
sh'hrum, sho'rhim, ramaya, namaha. This last word signi-
fies ' respectful greeting.'
The magician sometimes repeats these mantrams in a
humble and supplicatory manner, loading with praises the
god whom he invokes ; but he quickly resumes his im-
perious tone, and exclaims as though in a vehement rage,
' Grasp it ! Grasp it ! ' or * Begone ! Begone ! If thou art
willing to do what I ask of thee, well and good ; if not,
I command thee to do it in the name of such and such
a god, in the name of the feet of my guru ! ' Whereupon
1 Such a thing is unheard of nowadays. — Ed.
A MAGICIAN'S STOCK-IN-TRADE 389
the god cannot do otherwise than comply with the magician's
demands without a murmur !
From the haughty and indecorous manner in which the
Hindu magicians treat their good-natured deities, it may
be judged that they are not the men to allow themselves to
be frightened as easily as were the poor witches of Horace,
Canidia and Sagana, who, it will be remembered, were put
to terrified flight by a commonplace sound, resembling the
bursting of an inflated bladder, made by the God of the
Gardens, who had been troubled by the enchantments
which they came to perform every night in the place
entrusted to his keeping.
It is impossible to enumerate the various drugs, in-
gredients, and utensils that go to make up the stock-in-
trade of an Indian magician. There are certain incanta-
tions, in the performance of which it is necessary to use
the bones of sixty -four different animals — neither more nor
less — and amongst them may be mentioned those of a man
born on a Sunday which happens to be new-moon day, of
a woman born on a Friday, the feet-bones of a Pariah,
of a cobbler, of a Mahomedan, and of a European. If all
these bones are mixed together, enchanted by mantrams,
consecrated by sacrifices, and then buried in the house,
or at the threshold of an enemy on a night that the stars
show to be propitious, they will infallibly cause the enemy's
death.
In the same way, should the magician, in the silence of
the night, bury these bones at the four cardinal points of
a hostile camp, and then, retiring to some distance, repeat
seven times the mantram of defeat, the result will be that
within seven days the whole encamped army will either
disperse of itself or perish to the last man.
Thirty- two weapons, consecrated by the sacrifice of a
human victim, will spread such dismay among a besieging
army that a hundred of their opponents will appear to it
as a thousand.
Sometimes a quantity of mud collected from sixty-four
filthy places is kneaded together with hair, parings of
nails, bits of leather, &c, and is then moulded into small
figures, on the breasts of which the name of one's enemy
is written. Certain words and mantrams are then repeated
390 MUTILATING REPRESENTATIVE FIGURES
over these figures, which are also consecrated by sacrifices.
No sooner is this done than the grahas or planets take
possession of the person against whom such incantations
are directed, and afflict him with a thousand ills.
These figures are sometimes pierced through and through
with an awl, or are mutilated in various ways with the
intention of killing or mutilating in the same manner the
person who is the object of vengeance \
Sixty-four roots of different kinds of noxious plants are
known among the magicians, and, when duly prepared
with mantrams and sacrifices, become powerful weapons for
covertly dealing fatal blows to obnoxious persons.
It must here be remarked that the profession of a magician
is not altogether free from danger. If the Hindus them-
selves are revengeful, their gods are also passably so.
Again, the gods do not obey without some feeling of anger
the orders given to them by a miserable mortal, and they
sometimes punish in a very cruel and brutal manner the
! At all times and in all places the same ridiculous and barbarous
means have sufficed to excite the imagination of the vulgar, the ignorant,
and the superstitious. They were, are, and will be the same throughout
the world. Thus Medea, in Ovid : —
Per tumulos errat, passis discincta capillis,
Certaque de tepidis colligit ossa rogis ;
Devovet absentes, simulacraque cerea fingit,
Et miserum tenues in iecur urget acus.
The two witches of Horace who have just been mentioned also had,
among their other magical apparatus, two figures, one of wool and the
other of wax :
Maior
Lanea, quae poenis compesceret inferiorem :
Cerea suppliciter stabat, servilibus, utque
lam peritura, modis.
The fanatical Leaguers of France in the sixteenth century carried their
superstitious practices to such extremes that they caused wax figures
to be made representing Henry III and the King of Navarre. They
pierced the different parts of these figures with thorns for the space of
forty days, and on the fortieth day they struck them about the region of
the heart, believing that they would thereby cause the death of the
princes whom the images represented. In the year 1751 a pretended
sorcerer named Trois-rchelles, who was executed on the Place de Greve,
declared during his examination that there existed in France three
hundred thousand persons practising the same profession as himself.
Possibly he exaggerated, but at all events, if historians eliminated from
their records all the follies of men, they would certainly not have much
left to relate. — Dubois.
RIVALRY AMONGST MAGICIANS 391
person who ventures to command them. Woe to him who
commits the smallest error, or makes the slightest omission
in the innumerable ceremonies that are obligatory under
such circumstances ! He is immediately crushed with the
full weight of the mischief which he was preparing for
others.
Then again, a magician is in constant danger from rivals
who exercise the same trade, especially when his rivals
are as skilful as himself, or maybe more so. For these
may succeed in counteracting his charms, and in bringing
upon his own head, or upon the heads of his clients, the
whole weight of his evil machinations. Accordingly there
exists, in appearance or in reality, an inveterate mutual
hatred amongst this crowd of men who pretend to be the
interpreters of destiny. Occasionally they are seen to bid
defiance to each other, and to enter the lists in the presence
of witnesses and arbitrators, whom they call upon to decide
which of the two is the more skilful in his art. The test
consists, for example, in having to lift from the ground
a spell-bound object, such as a piece of straw, a wand, or
a piece of mone}^. The two antagonists, placing themselves
at either side of and at an equal distance from the afore-
said object, pretend to approach it ; but the mantrams
which they utter, or the enchanted ashes which they sprinkle
upon each other, have the effect of arresting their course.
An invisible and irresistible force seems to drive them back ;
they try again and again to advance towards the object,
but as often have to draw back. They redouble their
efforts ; convulsive movements agitate them ; the sweat
pours from them ; they spit blood. At last one of them
succeeds in getting hold of the spell-bound object, and he
is proclaimed the victor.
Sometimes, again, one of the combatants is thrown
violently upon the ground by the force of the mantrams of
his antagonist. He then rolls about like one possessed,
and finally remains for some time motionless, feigning un-
consciousness. At last, however, he recovers the use of his
senses, gets up apparently much fatigued and exhausted,
and retires covered with shame and confusion. A sickness
of several days' duration is supposed to be the immediate
result of his strenuous yet futile efforts.
392 PRECONCERTED EFFECTS
It will, doubtless, be easily guessed that these pitiable
fooleries are the outcome of a premeditated understanding
between the shameless charlatans who practise them. But
the multitude who pay for being treated to a spectacle of
this kind, and who look upon the actors with fear and
admiration, are fully persuaded that all their contortions
are due to supernatural causes. It must, however, be
admitted that these men go through their parts with really
admirable skill and precision. On many an occasion they
have been seen to perform sleight-of-hand tricks with such
rare skill as to astonish persons of a much less credulous
turn of mind than the Hindus *.
CHAPTER XXII
The Poetry of the Hindus.
From the very earliest times poetry has been very much
in vogue with the Hindus, and it is still held in high regard
by them. One is even inclined to believe that at first they
had no other written language. Not one of their original
ancient books is written in prose, or in the vulgar tongue —
not even the books on medicine, which are said to be very
numerous in the Sanskrit language.
We may naturally infer that the practice of writing in
a style and idiom beyond the comprehension of the vulgar
was mainly due to the artful precaution of the Brahmins,
who found in it a sure means of excluding all other castes
from participating in a knowledge of which they wished to
retain a monopoly.
It is quite certain that all the Hindu books in prose are
of modern origin. It is in verse that the eighteen Puranas,
and other similar works, have been translated from the
Sanskrit into Tamil, Telugu, and Canarese, and, I think,
into all the other vernaculars of India.
1 The magic art is still firmly believed in throughout India. How-
ever, the rules whereby magical powers can be acquired are so rigorous
and difficult, and the consequences of any violation or infringement of
them supposed to be so dangerous to the man who attempts to practise
them, that only a very few ever become adepts. In all parts of the
country men are to be seen who are said to have become mad on account
(if some violation of the prescribed ceremonies for the acquisition of the
black art. — Ed.
VERNACULAR POETS 393
Tamil poetry seems to have been chiefly cultivated by
the Sudras ; and even Pariahs have been the authors of
various poems in that language. The Tamil poets, how-
ever, while imitating the form and style of Sanskrit poetry,
have added so many rules of their own that it is difficult
to excel in the writing of it.
Telugu and Canarese poetry is chiefly the work of Brah-
mins.
Having acquired some knowledge of the most important
rules of Hindu prosody, which, I think, are the same in all
the vernaculars of the country, Sanskrit not excepted, I will
try to describe them briefly here. The subject seems to
me likely to interest philologists. I will, therefore, describe :
(1) the different kinds of poetry ; (2) the long and short
quantities ; (3) the different feet ; (4) the different metres ;
(5) the method of rhyme ; (6) the composition of verses ;
(7) the style of their poetry generally.
The Different Kinds of Poetry.
There are five kinds of poetry, namely, padam, padyam,
dwipada, dandaka, yakshakaram. Some add to these
another kind under the name of padia, but as this is,
properly speaking, poetical prose, it is not generally con-
sidered as belonging to the province of poetry.
The padam includes not only the odes in honour of gods,
princes, and other great personages, but also obscene and
amorous ditties, sprightly dialogues between gods and
goddesses, and other similar compositions, some of which
are called sringaram (ornament), because they describe the
beauty of women and their different methods of adornment.
The erotic songs are also called sittinbam (pleasures of
the will). Of this sort there is an infinite variety. They
are sung, for the most part, by religious mendicants when
they go from house to house asking for alms. The more
coarse and indecent they are, the better they suit the
tastes of the hearers, whose generosity is manifested in
proportion to the enjoyment derived from them.
The hymns in honour of the gods are called kirthanam
(praise), a term which these compositions well deserve on
account of the high-flown eulogies with which they are
replete.
o :;
394 DIFFERENT KINDS OF POETRY
The word padam corresponds likewise to our strophe,
stanza, or couplet.
Pad yam includes the great poems composed in honour of